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snaky

snaky

1 7.7
Being secret and dishonest, often to trick people
  • adjective
  • /ˈsneɪki/
: deshonesto
  • This is a business man, a shifty, beady eyed, snaky, evil, ruthless, heartless, scandalous son of a bitch bastard devil himself.

I don't want to slimy shit or snaky shit.

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Examples

  • The politician's snaky behavior during the debate revealed his dishonesty.

  • So you might have done the snaky thing you've got and check this, you've got nicked with the scrub.

  • You are a snaky man.

  • Sally in a snaky way.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Nowadays you have this snaky lead singer.

  • The first person I'm going to nominate is Castillo, I think, because he has probably been the snakiest in terms of the way it's all been played.

  • Her snaky remarks made it clear she couldn't be trusted.

  • He used a snaky tone when discussing his plans, which left everyone suspicious.

Synonyms

sneaky
vssnaky
101 4.4

Acting in a secret way to avoid being noticed or to get an advantage

is about betrayal and bad faith rather than mere hidden action

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

Truthful and fair, not cheating or lying

702 1.0

Willing to consider new ideas

How Deceitful

treacherous
38 7.1
snaky
1 7.7
deceptive
62 5.3
sneaky
101 4.4
sly
31 4.9

Surface Forms

snaky positive
snakier comparative
snakiest superlative

Morphology

snaky = snake (semi-transparent) = snake + y

Morphologically formed from 'snake' + '-y' but the sense 'deceitful/treacherous' is a figurative extension that may not be obvious to learners without cultural knowledge.

Etymology

The word snaky comes from snake + -y, meaning 'like a snake'. A helpful way to remember the second meaning is that snakes are often seen as secret or dangerous, so snaky can describe someone or something that is sly, tricky, or dishonest.