sly
/slaɪ/adjective, adverb
sly is spelled S-L-Y: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Sly, the name). As an adjective, sly means “Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sly?
| Letters | 3: S-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sly?
Sly appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Sly, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sly?
- /slaɪ/
Sly has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with sly
Also written: slee.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of sly
- slier comparative
- slyer comparative
- sliest superlative
- slyest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily.
- 2
Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice
- 3
Done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy; subtle
a sly trick
- 4
Light or delicate; slight; thin.
adverb
- 1
Slyly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sournois, malin, rusé, matois , espiègle |
| German | schlau, gerissen, listig, verschmitzt |
| Portuguese | esperto, astuto, manhoso |
| Spanish | astuto, pillo, listo , habilidoso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sly come from?
From Middle English sly, sley, sleigh, sleiȝ, from Old Norse slǿgr (“sly, cunning”, literally “capable of hitting or striking”), from Proto-Germanic *slōgiz (“lively, agile, cunning, sly, striking”), from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (“to hit, throw”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).