Cunning example sentences
Related (13): clever, sly, crafty, wily, shrewd, devious, manipulative, deceptive, astute, cunningly, guile, trickery, deceit
"Cunning" Example Sentences
Common Phrases
- cunning plan
- cunning move
- cunning strategy
- cunning and charm
- cunning intelligence
- cunning nature
- cunning way
- cunning smile
- cunning manipulation
- cunning trick
- display cunning
- show cunning
- with cunning
Examples by Level
A1
- The cunning fox stole the chicken from the farm.
- She had a cunning plan to surprise him on his birthday.
A2
- His cunning smile told me he was hiding something from us.
- The cunning of the trick was that nobody expected it to work.
B1
- Looking back, I realized her kindness had been cunning manipulation the whole time.
- There's something almost admirable about the cunning required to pull off a scheme like that.
B2
- The detective recognized the cunning of the criminal's method — it was designed to look like an accident.
- She moved through the negotiation with cunning precision, always knowing exactly what to say next.
C1
- What appeared to be genuine concern was, in fact, a cunning attempt to gain leverage in the dispute.
- The cunning of the narrative lay not in what was said, but in what was deliberately left unsaid.
C2
- There was a particular kind of cunning in how she managed to appear both vulnerable and invulnerable simultaneously.
- The author's cunning extended to the structure itself — each revelation reframed everything the reader thought they understood.
Examples by Scenario
🏠 Everyday Life
- My neighbor used some cunning to get out of paying for the fence repair.
- The kid's cunning excuse about homework being eaten by the dog almost worked.
💼 Workplace
- His cunning move during the meeting positioned him perfectly for the promotion.
- She had a cunning way of taking credit for other people's work without making it obvious.
📊 Business
- The company's cunning rebrand successfully distanced them from their previous scandal.
- Their cunning pricing strategy undercut the competition while maintaining profit margins.
🛒 Buying / Shopping
- The store's cunning display made you think you were getting a deal when you weren't.
- I fell for the cunning marketing — the product looked nothing like the picture online.
✈️ Travel
- The cunning of the tour guide was getting us to spend money on things we didn't need.
- She used cunning to negotiate a better hotel rate by booking and canceling three times.
📚 Education
- The student's cunning approach to the essay made it sound original when it mostly wasn't.
- The teacher saw through the cunning excuse about why the assignment was late.
❤️ Relationships
- His cunning way of apologizing made it impossible to stay angry with him.
- She realized too late that his charm had been cunning manipulation all along.
📰 News / Politics
- The politician's cunning use of language made a terrible policy sound reasonable.
- Analysts praised the cunning of the campaign strategy, even as they questioned its ethics.
💻 Technology
- The app's cunning algorithm kept you scrolling for hours without realizing it.
- The scammer's cunning phishing email fooled even people who thought they knew better.
📝 Formal Writing
- The study examined the cunning mechanisms by which misinformation spreads through social networks.
- The author's cunning use of unreliable narration creates ambiguity about what actually occurred.