Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Careful and shrewd, especially where one's own interests are concerned.
- adj. Cautious in spending money; frugal.
- adj. Scots Steady, restrained, and gentle.
- adj. Scots Snug and quiet.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- A term of commendation of various application.
- Knowing; cautious; prudent; wary; watchful; cunning; artful; crafty.
- Skilled; handy; expert.
- Moderate; reasonable. In expense: Frugal; not extravagant
- In charges or exactions: Not extortionate.
- In conduct: Not severe.
- Quiet; easy; soft. Quiet in disposition; gentle; tractable.
- Quiet in movement; still; slow.
- Snug; comfortable; neat.
- Safe; not dangerous; fortunate; lucky.
- Good; worthy.
- Possessed of supernatural power; skilled in magic.
- In a canny manner; cannily; cautiously; gently; slowly.
Wiktionary
- adj. Careful, prudent, cautious.
- adj. Knowing, shrewd, astute.
- adj. Frugal, thrifty.
- adj. Northumbrian Pleasant, fair.
- adj. Northumbrian Very or much.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Artful; cunning; shrewd; wary.
- adj. Skillful; knowing; capable.
- adj. Cautious; prudent; safe..
- adj. Having pleasing or useful qualities; gentle.
- adj. Reputed to have magical powers.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others
Etymologies
- Northern English dialect from can ("to know"), from Middle English can, first and third person singular of cunnen, connen ("to be able, know how to"), from Old English cunnan ("to know how to, be able to"). Compare Scots canny, Old English cann ("knowledge, assertion"). More at can, cunning. (Wiktionary)
- From can1. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“As she told Glenn Campbell on Sunday, it takes a year to pass such a Bill - more than enough time, perhaps, for a certain canny First Minister to sell his idea of independence (see the quote at the top of the page) and cash in on people's lack of confidence in the Labour Party.”
“Yet "ca'canny" is a disastrous thing to the British laborer.”
“Known as a canny businesman with a Las Vegas address, Manny was listed as the founder and CEO of Wilkins LLC and also as the bottom-line owner of Singleatheart.com.”
“She had stretched out a wilted hand, peering with an expression canny, severe, and resigned.”
“Well, I do not believe there is much of a correlation, but if you really think about it, the fact that Wilson has been described as 'canny' reflects his vast magical knowledge.”
Georgia congressman: Wilson's outburst 'carefully calculated'
“But I also do think that she's kind of canny, too, because I think she understands that her own celebrity right now is sort of bigger than politics.”
“I don't think they're being "canny", just complacent.”
“And courage is the only thing a "canny" Scot can bear to see expended without return.”
“Active, inquisitive, resolute, and possessing a fair share of the national _perfervidum ingenium_, not without some tincture of those elements of the Scottish character known as the "canny" and the "dour," our worker early developed that robust vigour of mind and body which has so long stood the wear and tear of severely trying work.”
“On the contrary he was usually what the Scotch call a "canny" player.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘canny’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Deprefixed words
A list of words you more frequently hear used with prefixes than without.
clement, witting, ravel, whelm, fettered, licit, couth, bridled, wieldy, kempt, ingenuous, iterate and 116 more...
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Words related to knowledge
Words that relate to learning, knowing, being enlightened...
revelation, eureka, awakening, idea, sapient, astute, canny, intelligent, wise, sharp, shrewd, informed and 467 more...
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The weird, the wonderful and the plai...
Loved for their ingenuity, an exact description, or simply for the pure joy of it.
acidulous, aprosdoketon, higgledy-piggledy, lexicographical, ninja, audacious, somnabulist, shivaree, amorphous, quidnunc, glib, melancholy and 353 more...
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Y
What a -Y does to an otherwise common, dull word
zany, waxy, wavy, arty, chewy, bony, boxy, cozy, nosy, foxy, wiry, junky and 321 more...
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Steampunk
Words used quite often in steampunk
ansible, airship, chymical, valve, clockwork, dirigible, thaumaturgy, copper, bronze, difference engine, gear, rivets and 516 more...
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13
arduous, canny, climax, endorse, exuberant, intrepid, kindle, lucrative, mentor, obsession, personable, proficient and 3 more...
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Ideas
brainchild, inspiration, muse, genius, eureka, discovery, intellectual prop..., intangible asset, goodwill, patented, savant, brainiac and 76 more...
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GRE
trope, surreptitious, tenet, insular, munificent, exegesis, limpid, acerbic, litany, cupidity, restive, protract and 105 more...
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Yes We Can
can-, -can, or even -can-.
candelabra, parcan, incantation, Canada, candida, Candide, toucan, can-can, cancan, cannabis, incandescent, canticle and 26 more...
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Vocab Lesson 13
arduous, canny, climax, endorse, exuberant, intrepid, kindle, lucrative, mentor, obssesion, personable, proficient and 3 more...
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Twitter favourites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favourite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
bumwank, calamity, recalcitrant, gayenese, jeeze, nonsense, flabbergasted, juxtapose, procrastinating, ossanity, biffing, loser and 1972 more... -
Words I Know
List of most of the words I've learned
garner, abase, abate, abdicate, abduct, aberration, abet, abhor, abide, abject, abjure, abnegation and 1046 more...
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The New Yorker
prejudice, ignominious, quintessence, disparity, vanguard, repudiated, eclectic, dredge, taxonomy, pugnacious, surreptitiously, pudgy and 113 more...
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c
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Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for canny.
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