sly

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.

She has a sly way of imparting lessons, often with playfulness.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2026

"Nobody had agreed to it at all. Really sly," fellow chorister Kevin Doughty says in Con Jones: World's Best Conman.

From BBC • Dec. 31, 2025

Here, it is a man whose labor disappears behind a woman’s byline, a sly inversion of the far more familiar historical pattern.

From Salon • Dec. 25, 2025

The math-proficiency analysis suggests it may be doing so on the sly.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025

“Trying to clock out your service hours early?” he asks, voice sly like he’s catching me in some plot.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz