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Synonyms

canny

American  
[kan-ee] / ˈkæn i /

adjective

cannier, canniest

  1. careful; cautious; prudent.

    a canny reply.

  2. astute; shrewd; knowing; sagacious.

    a canny negotiator.

  3. skilled; expert.

  4. frugal; thrifty.

    a canny housewife.

  5. Scot.

    1. safe to deal with, invest in, or work at (usually used with a negative).

    2. gentle; careful; steady.

    3. snug; cozy; comfortable.

    4. pleasing; attractive.

    5. Archaic. having supernatural or occult powers.

adverb

  1. in a canny manner.

  2. Scot. carefully; cautiously.

canny British  
/ ˈkænɪ /

adjective

  1. shrewd, esp in business; astute or wary; knowing

  2. dialect good or nice: used as a general term of approval

  3. lucky or fortunate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

  1. dialect quite; rather

    a canny long while
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • cannily adverb
  • canniness noun
  • overcanny adjective

Etymology

Origin of canny

First recorded in 1580–90; can 1 + -y 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"Larijani is a true insider, a canny operator, familiar with how the system operates and familiar with the supreme leader's inclinations."

From Barron's

Curran is often credited with having a canny mix of slower balls but he has largely kept his pace above 80mph in those crucial final stages.

From BBC

“Wuthering Heights” is a satisfying listen as well as a canny solution to the problem of how to follow up a breakthrough record.

From The Wall Street Journal

But they had a coffee and chatted and he seemed "nice, quite canny".

From BBC

Rodríguez is considered a canny politician who some contend is much less ideological than her leftist history implies.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.