1
: deceitful cunning : duplicity
a war that called for guile rather than firepower
2
obsolete : stratagem, trick
guileful adjective
guilefully adverb
guilefulness noun

Examples of guile in a Sentence

By the end of Liebling's dispatch, Mollie has become a mythic figure invulnerable to death, capable of great feats of courage and guile, and able to transform himself into any human type for the purposes of disguise. Lee Siegel, Harper's, December 2004
The going was painfully slow, but Chickenhound consoled himself on the long journey by boosting his own ego. "Maybe a silly bunch of rats could put one over on Sela. Huh, she was old and had lost a lot of her guile. Not like me! They hadn't reckoned with a smart intelligent young fox like I am." Brian Jacques, Redwall, (1986) 2002
Untrained human nature was not frank and innocent; it was full of the twists and defences of an instinctive guile. Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence, 1920
a shady salesman who usually relies on a combination of quick thinking and guile a person so full of guile he can't even be trusted to give you the correct time of day
Recent Examples on the Web That is partly because smaller armies facing larger foes must rely on guile over brawn. Shashank Joshi, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 But his familiar guile is now facing its greatest test. Robert Draper, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2024 Now, this pallid Color Purple epitomizes the artistic dearth of an era when a cultural mountebank like Winfrey uses race and feminist guile to cheat us of America’s most creative achievements. Armond White, National Review, 3 Jan. 2024 That, Richardson, 30, said is where guile has to carry the day. Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2024 Christian Eriksen gives ten Hag guile and composure, but is now entering the twilight of his career and can’t be counted on to play two matches in a week - as Manchester United require. Graham Ruthven, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 Pick: The Wildcats and Broncos are similar teams, defined by their defensive guile. J. Brady McCollough, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2023 The answer, according to experts, is through a combination of guile, improvisation, tenacity and an important overseas benefactor. Brad Lendon, CNN, 11 Oct. 2023 What Manafort could not gain him by guile, Putin—in a move described by Trump as genius-- determined to seize by force. Stephen Humphreys, al, 2 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'guile.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English gile, from Anglo-French, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Old English wigle divination — more at witch

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of guile was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near guile

Cite this Entry

“Guile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guile. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

guile

noun
: sly trickery : duplicity
guileful adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on guile

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