cunning• The book talks, and is very cunning.• But the wickedcreature was very cunning, and she finally thought of a trick that would give her what she wanted.• The coach quickly came up with a cunningcounterattack.• Hawkeye was very cunning - he always waited until his enemy was alone and unarmed before making his attack.• She's a cunning little devil! She left for school as usual, and then went into town instead with her friends.• a cunning marketing ploy• a cunningmodel of the world• It was only the latest chapter in the book on the dangerous, amoral, but cunning place called Arkansas.• And it seems that nothing, not even one of Baldrick's cunning plans, can save them.• There was a small black sofa with cunningred and bluecushions on it.• His leadershipstyle was to maintain power through a combination of force and cunningstrategy.• She brought about the death of Pelias by a cunning trick.• They use all kinds of cunning tricks to make people give them money.• The brightest are wasted: the cunningtriumph: the robberbarons are back.• Diane was a cold and cunning woman who preyed upon lonelyteenagers.
cunning2 noun [uncountableU]
INTELLIGENTthe ability to achieve what you want by deceiving people in a clever way 狡猾,狡诈
the tiger’s ferocity and cunning
老虎的凶猛和狡诈
She would use low cunning (=unpleasant dishonest methods) to win people’s sympathy.
ADJECTIVE | VERB + CUNNING | PREPOSITIONADJECTIVE➤great非常狡猾▸➤devious, low (especially BrE) 卑鄙的欺詐手段▸➤animal動物的狡猾▸➤native天生的機靈◇She relied on her native cunning to survive.她依賴天生的機靈活了下來。VERB + CUNNING➤have狡猾◇She had great cunning and ruthlessness.她非常狡猾冷酷。➤show表現出狡詐▸➤use使用狡詐的手段◇He had used cunning to get what he wanted.他用了狡詐的手段來得到他想要的東西。PREPOSITION➤with cunning狡詐地◇She managed him with great cunning.她十分狡猾地控制着他。
cunning ♦︎ crafty ♦︎ sly ♦︎ sneaky ♦︎ wily ♦︎ sharp ♦︎ calculating ♦︎ schemingThese words all describe people behaving in a dishonest or indirect way in order to get sth.这些词均表示狡猾的、奸诈的、诡计多端的。PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS 句型和搭配◆a cunning / sly / sneaky trick◆a cunning / calculating / scheming mind◆a cunning / crafty / sly / sneaky / scheming bastard◆a cunning / crafty / sneaky / calculating / scheming bitch◆a crafty / sly / sneaky devil / thing◆a cunning / crafty / sly / sneaky / scheming little...◆a cunning / crafty / sly / sneaky / wily old...■cunning (sometimesdisapproving) having or showing skill at getting what you want, especially by indirect or dishonest methods精明的;(尤指)狡猾的,奸诈的◆That cunning old rogue is up to something, I'm sure.我确信那个狡猾的老流氓在捣鬼。◆It's just a cunning ploy by the marketing people to get us to buy more cornflakes.那只是市场营销人员让我们买更多玉米片的狡猾伎俩。 see also devious ⇨ dishonest▸cunning
noun
[uncountable] ◆It took energy and cunning just to survive.既要花力气又要有心计才能生存。■craftycunning精明的;(尤指)狡猾的,奸诈的◆He's a crafty old devil.他是个奸诈狡猾的老狐狸。◆She's one of the party's craftiest political strategists.她是该党最精明的政治战略家之一。NOTE辨析 Cunning or crafty?Cunning can describe a person or a plan. Crafty usually describes a person; it can also describe a single action, but not a whole plan. * cunning可以形容人或计划。crafty一般形容人,此外还可形容单一的行为,但不形容整个计划◆That was a crafty move / touch.那是一次巧妙的行动/接触。◆a crafty ploy by the marketing peopleWhen used to describe people, both cunning and crafty can suggest admiration for sb's cleverness as much as disapproval of their dishonesty.用来形容人时,cunning和crafty均表示既赞赏其聪明,又不齿其诡诈。■sly (disapproving) behaving or done in a secret and usually dishonest way诡诈的;狡诈的◆That was a sly political move.那是一种诡诈的政治手段。◆She's a sly one-never lets on what she's thinking.她心机很深,从不让别人知道她在想什么。ⓘ If you do sth on the sly, you do it secretly, not wanting other people to discover what you are doing. * on the sly指秘密地、偷偷地◆He has to visit them on the sly.他只好偷偷去看望他们。■sneaky (informal, sometimesdisapproving) behaving or done in a secret and sometimes dishonest or unpleasant way悄悄的;偷偷摸摸的;鬼鬼祟祟的◆I took a sneaky glance at my watch.我悄悄瞥了一下我的手表。◆That was a sneaky trick to play!耍这种把戏也太不光明正大了!NOTE辨析 Sly or sneaky?Sneaky is a less formal word than sly and shows less serious disapproval. * sneaky比 sly较不正式,贬义较轻。■wily ˈwaɪli (of a person) clever at getting what you want, and willing to trick people(人)狡猾的,诡计多端的,爱捉弄人的◆He was outwitted by his wily opponent.他被狡猾的对手用计击败了。■sharp (disapproving) (of a person or their way of doing business) clever but possibly dishonest(人或经商手法)狡猾的,诡诈的◆His lawyer's a sharp operator.他的律师是个老狐狸。◆The firm had to face some sharp practice from competing companies.该公司不得不面对几家竞争对手的小动作。ⓘ Operator and practice are by far the most frequent collocates of sharp in this meaning.表达此义时,sharp最常与operator和practice搭配。■calculating (disapproving) (of a person) good at planning things so that they have an advantage, without caring about other people(人)精明的,精于算计的◆The judge called him 'a cold and calculating killer'.法官称他是个“工于心计的冷酷杀手”。■scheming ˈskiːmɪŋ (ratherformal, disapproving) (of a person) often planning secretly to do sth for their own advantage, especially by deceiving other people(人)惯搞阴谋的,诡计多端的,狡诈的◆She plays the role of a scheming wife in a doomed marriage.她扮演的角色是个在一桩注定失败的婚姻中诡计多端的妻子。