weaselly
4
8.4
- adjective
- /ˈwiːzəli/
- Informal
:
sneaky
- His weaselly behavior during the meeting made everyone doubt his honesty.
- a weaselly guy
- a weaselly man
- a weaselly friend
Examples
-
He turned to his dresser, a weaselly little man named Freddy Leavis, for a final check of his makeup and costume.
Fiction book (1990) -
You can do that without being cagey, dishonest, or weaselly.
Blog text (5) -
The ultimate weaselly male secretary.
Fiction book (1999) -
A little less weaselly, less greasy, maybe.
-
I really wanted things to work out for you... my weaselly, dimwitted friend.
-
I really wanted things to work out for you, my weaselly, dim-witted friend.
Fiction book (1999) -
His sidekick RED is a small, weaselly "yes" man.
Fiction book (1999) -
Those weaselly, no-good cheats.
-
While the campaign uses some very weaselly phrases to put the best possible spin on Obama's position, they make it perfectly clear that Obama's plan includes cutting Social Security benefits.
Blog text (11) -
He didn't let Lyin Ryan get away with any of his two-faced, weaselly prevarications; Biden called him out on every one of them.
Blog text (6)
Synonyms
128
2.5
Likely to lie or cheat to get something for yourself
101
4.4
Acting in a secret way to avoid being noticed or to get an advantage
51
6.4
Acting in a dishonest or tricky way to get what you want
43
5.1
Clever at getting things by tricking people
31
4.9
Being clever in a secret way to trick others
26
4.5
Uses lies or clever plans to get what they want
20
6.9
Clever in a sly or secret way to hide what you really mean
17
7.4
A look or behavior that seems dishonest and hard to trust
3
8.8
Clever in a dishonest way to trick people
3
8.2
Being clever at secretly tricking people for personal gain
1
9.9
Acting in a way that tricks people to get what you want
1
9.1
Behaving in a sly way that tries to fool people
1
9.9
Seeming secret and a little dangerous as if hiding in the shadows
1
8.9
A person or plan that tricks people to get what they want
Acting in a secret, sly way to try to trick people
Moving with many curves like a snake or acting in a sneaky way
Showing one feeling while acting differently to trick people
Antonyms
How Sneaky
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Weaselly comes from the animal weasel, which people imagine as quick and able to 'slip away' when trouble comes. So calling someone's behavior weaselly means it is 'sneaky' or dishonest, like a weasel avoiding capture.