adj
devious
DEE-vee-uhs
adj
1
Dishonest and cunning; willing to use underhand methods to get what one wants.
"He used devious tactics to push his rivals out of the deal."
"It was a devious plan, but it worked perfectly."
2
Indirect or roundabout, rather than going straight to the point.
"We took a devious route through back roads to avoid the traffic."
How to Use Devious
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSneaky and underhand — or, in its older sense, simply roundabout rather than direct.
Common mistake
Modern use is almost always negative (dishonest); the neutral "roundabout route" sense is now rare and slightly literary.
Common pairings
devious plan
devious scheme
devious means
Word Forms
more devious comparative, most devious superlative
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Etymology
From Latin dēvius, "out of the way, off the main road," from de via, "off the road." The figurative sense of "deceitful" only developed in English in the 1600s.