What is the Latin word for sly?

The usual Latin words for “sly” are callidus, versūtus, vafer; also ā̆stūtus, subdolus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“sly” in Latin

calliduswise, clever, ingenious; adroit, skilful, cunning, sly, crafty; discreet versūtusadroit, dexterous, versatile; shrewd, clever, crafty, ingenious; wily, cunning, sly vafersly, cunning, crafty, artful, subtle ā̆stūtuscrafty, cunning, shrewd, clever, tricksy (adept at using tricks)subdoluscrafty, cunning, sly, subtle

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

sly

callidus: versutus: vafer: astutus: subdolus. (The words are found in this connection and order.) callidus et astutus; astutus et callidus; versutus et callidus. SYN. in CUNNING.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for sly?: The usual Latin words for “sly” are callidus, versūtus, vafer; also ā̆stūtus, subdolus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.