She turned out to be a wily negotiator.
a wily judge of character, she takes advantage of car buyers' insecurities to sell them a bigger machine than they really need
Recent Examples on the WebOr whether, in an even more damning indictment of all involved, she’s fooled them both with her wily, seductive ways.—Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2024 Abbott’s principal, Ava Coleman (Janelle James), is a wily narcissist who blackmailed her way into the job and keeps a ring light in her office for TikTok shoots.—Molly Fischer, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024 Each episode begins with the murder and then pits the NYPD and a skeptical Elsbeth against the generally wily perpetrator.—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Feb. 2024 But to meet his destiny as a fur-trapping legend, Jean must contend with a wily beaver population — often spied in teams of two, carting logs toward a mysterious location — who harbor their own plans for survival-of-the-fittest domination.—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024 The promising aspects start with the effective mix of young unknowns and wily veterans stepping into these big roles.—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 22 Feb. 2024 Achieving an effective vaccine has taken so long because malaria is a uniquely wily foe.—Maryn McKenna, WIRED, 9 Oct. 2023 Retelling the story of this wily chocolatier might seem a daunting task.—Mayukh Sen, Bon Appétit, 15 Dec. 2023 Spielberg is tickled by the grifter in Schindler, the wily operator who sets out to amass a fortune on the backs of Polish Jewish workers, only to then spend that same fortune to save as many of those workers as possible.—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wily.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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