See Also: devious(dictionary)
devious(dictionary)

devious (iou)



devious adjective & adverb. L16.
[from Latin devius, from de- DE- 1 + via way: see -OUS.]
A. adjective.
Lying out of the way; remote, sequestered. Now rare. L16.
E. K. Kane These devious and untrodden ice-fields.
Pursuing an indirect or winding course; circuitous, rambling; deviating from the straight way, erring; subtly cunning, wily, unscrupulous, dishonest. E17.
J. R. Lowell A shoal of devious minnows wheel from where a pike Lurks balanced. C. V. Wedgwood To evade them they had travelled..by devious ways, thus greatly lengthening the journey. W. Golding I should..have to be subtle, devious, diplomatic. P. Larkin The devious ways of practical politics.
b. adverb. With an indirect or winding course, circuitously. Now rare. L18.
C. Bront? I sought the Continent, and went devious through all its lands.
deviously adverb M18.
deviousness noun E18.