Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
devious — de‧vi‧ous [ˈdiːviəs] adjective using dishonest tricks and deceiving people to get what you want: • He s an honest businessman, not the devious executive the government says he is. deviously adverb deviousness noun [uncountable] : • the… … Financial and business terms
Devious — De vi*ous, a. [L. devius; de + via way. See {Viaduct}.] 1. Out of a straight line; winding; varying from directness; as, a devious path or way. [1913 Webster] 2. Going out of the right or common course; going astray; erring; wandering; as, a… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Devious — may refer to: DeviousMUD, the forerunner to MMORPG Runescape Devious (novel), the ninth book in The It Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar Devious Diesel, a character in the television series Thomas and Friends This disambiguation page lists… … Wikipedia
devious — [adj1] dishonest, crafty artful, calculating, crooked, deceitful, double dealing, duplicitous, errant, erring, evasive, faking one out*, fishy*, foxy*, fraudulent, guileful, indirect, insidious, insincere, not straightforward, oblique,… … New thesaurus
devious — I adjective aberrant, ambagious, artful, circuitous, crafty, crooked, cunning, deceitful, designing, deviating, deviative, devius, errant, excursive, foxy, indirect, insidious, labyrinthine, roundabout, scheming, serpentine, sinuous, sly,… … Law dictionary
devious — 1590s, out of the way, from L. devius out of the way, remote, off the main road, from de via (see DEVIATE (Cf. deviate)). Originally in the Latin literal sense; figurative sense of deceitful is first recorded 1630s. Related: Deviously;… … Etymology dictionary
devious — *crooked, oblique Analogous words: deviating, diverging, digressing (see SWERVE): aberrant, *abnormal: tricky, crafty, artful, cunning, foxy, insidious, *sly Antonyms: straightforward Contrasted words: downright, *forthright … New Dictionary of Synonyms
devious — ► ADJECTIVE 1) skilful in using underhand tactics. 2) (of a route or journey) deviating from the most direct course; circuitous. DERIVATIVES deviously adverb deviousness noun. ORIGIN Latin devius out of the way , from via way … English terms dictionary
devious — [dē′vē əs] adj. [L devius < de , off, from + via, road: see VIA] 1. not in a straight path; roundabout; winding 2. deviating from the proper or usual course; going astray 3. not straightforward or frank; deceiving deviously adv. deviousness n … English World dictionary
devious — adjective Etymology: Latin devius, from de from + via way more at de , way Date: 1599 1. a. wandering, roundabout < a devious path > b. moving without a fixed course ; errant … New Collegiate Dictionary
devious — [[t]di͟ːviəs[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED (disapproval) If you describe someone as devious you do not like them because you think they are are dishonest and like to keep things secret, often in a complicated way. Newman was certainly devious, prepared to… … English dictionary
