devious

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Both incidents were a case of a lingering finger falling on to the granite after the handle was released, rather than a deliberate touch, so no suggestion of devious intent.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026

Sentencing the three on Tuesday at Southwark Crown Court, Judge Christopher Hehir called Dale a "thoroughly devious and untruthful and manipulative young woman".

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026

Now, as third baseman Max Muncy said with a devious grin from atop a makeshift stage in the Dodger Stadium outfield, “it’s starting to get a little bit comfortable up here. Let’s keep it going.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2025

Meanwhile the narrator’s financially devious husband appears as a vulture with “the brooding eye, the blood-tipped beak, the flabby folds of flesh” of a bird of prey.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

That woman had a devious mind that was only predictable when she scented an opportunity to vanquish her husband.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole