wily
wi·ly/ˈwaɪ.li/adjective
wily is spelled W-I-L-Y: 4 letters and 2 syllables (wi·ly). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, wily means “Sly, cunning, full of tricks” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in wily?
| Letters | 4: W-I-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: wi·ly |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,998th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is wily?
Wily appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce wily?
- /ˈwaɪ.li/
Wily has 2 syllables, split wi·ly in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-wily.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with wily
Sounds like: Wiley, Wylie (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of wily
- wilier comparative
- more wily comparative
- wiliest superlative
- most wily superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wily mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Sly, cunning, full of tricks.
Horatio's new girlfriend is a wily coquette, and poor Horatio is too smitten to see it.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wily in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense sly, cunning:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rusé, perfide, fourbe |
| German | schlau, listig, gerissen |
| Portuguese | ladino, matreiro, finório |
| Spanish | astuto, listo, pillo |
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 wily come from?
From Middle English wily, wiley, wyly. By surface analysis, wil(e) + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).