wile (w l)n. 1. A stratagem or trick intended to deceive or ensnare. 2. A disarming or seductive manner, device, or procedure: the wiles of a skilled negotiator. 3. Trickery; cunning. tr.v. wiled, wil·ing, wiles 1. To influence or lead by means of wiles; entice. 2. To pass (time) agreeably: wile away a Sunday afternoon. [Middle English wil, from Old North French, from Old Norse v  l, trick, or of Low German origin.]Synonyms: wile, artifice, trick, ruse, feint, stratagem, maneuver, dodge These nouns denote means for achieving an end by indirection or deviousness. Wile suggests deceiving and entrapping a victim by playing on his or her weak points: "He did not fail to see/His uncle's cunning wiles and treachery" (William Morris). Artifice refers to something especially contrived to create a desired effect: "Should the public forgive artifices used to avoid military service?" (Godfrey Sperling). Trick implies willful deception: "The ... boys ... had all sorts of tricks to prevent us from winning" (W.H. Hudson). Ruse stresses the creation of a false impression: Your pretended deafness was a ruse to enable you to learn our plans, wasn't it? Feint denotes a deceptive act calculated to distract attention from one's real purpose: One person bumped into me as a feint while the other stole my wallet. Stratagem implies carefully planned deception used to achieve an objective: The manager used ruthless stratagems to win the promotion. Maneuver often applies to a single strategic move: "To this day they always speak of that Reform Bill as if it had been a dishonest maneuver" (The Standard). Dodge stresses shifty and ingenious deception: "'It was all false, of course?' 'All, sir,' replied Mr. Weller, ' ... artful dodge'" (Charles Dickens). |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
wiles
plural noun
1. ploys, tricks, devices, lures, manoeuvres, dodges, ruses, artifices, subterfuges, stratagems, contrivances, impositions She never hesitated to use her feminine wiles to get her own way.
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