pawky

Definition of pawkynext
chiefly British

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pawky
Adjective
  • Supporters of the administration view this back and forth as a cunning ploy to buy time for the United States to position itself more advantageously for a confrontation.
    Leonard A. Schuette, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Owen is bamboozled by a cunning opportunist, handcuffed, and robbed in his underwear.
    Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • But it was filled with quicksilver, roller-coaster displays of virtuosity and the sly humor Lutoslawski and fellow Polish composer and pianist Andrzej Panufnik brought to their Paganini variations in its original 1941 iteration.
    George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
  • The Professional is a sly inversion of — and indulgent celebration of — action cliches, made at a time when action movies were ubiquitous but often redundant, featuring a succession of distinctly European stars like Schwarzenegger and Van Damme.
    Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • But the clever and wily ruler of the Sikh Kingdom of Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was obsessed with bringing the Koh-i-Noor back to India.
    Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Maye took the snap and gave it away again, set up by some wily safety play.
    Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 6 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Greenspan was renowned for his formidable data-crunching capabilities, sharp reading of market psychology, and subtle, often elusive communication style.
    , CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The cabin interiors are built from a lovely blonde wood, which was aesthetically pleasing, if a little creaky at times, while the white linens on the comfortable queen bed were a subtle reminder that this is a luxury accommodation.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • With just over a month remaining before the start of training camp, Perry has reportedly made another shrewd salary cap move to avoid the NBA luxury tax.
    Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Goretzka is viewed as a shrewd potential signing, owing to his experience, leadership and physicality.
    Aston Villa, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Bruno Guimaraes and Lucas Paqueta played guileful defence-splitting passes.
    James Horncastle, New York Times, 20 June 2026
  • One is to emphasize Iago—the guileful, insinuating convincingness of this malicious supervillain, who works on Othello to the point where any reasonable man would be deceived and fooled and worked into a rage that can lead to such a catastrophe.
    David Frum, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026
Adjective
  • There is too much going on here for this novel to work, but Andersen is an uncommon writer, a skilled historical novelist as well as an astute cultural observer and historical interpreter.
    John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Brown is clearly an empath who can read people in an astute way.
    Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Whitney Houston’s powerhouse version stands alone, but Dolly’s quieter, mournful ode to her collaboration with Porter Wagoner is the artful, formative sketch to a colossal mural.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Deploying everything from pickled green strawberries and fresh peas to whipped labneh with Banyul vinegar glaze, artful Viennoiserie evokes more than a little whimsy that spans sweet and savory.
    The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 24 Aug. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pawky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pawky. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster