- not in a straight path; roundabout; winding
- deviating from the proper or usual course; going astray
- not straightforward or frank; deceiving
Origin of devious
Classical Latin devius from de-, off, from + via, road: see via
adjective
The definition of devious is someone or something that is not straightforward or deviates from the usual course of action.
An example of someone who would be described as devious is a person who lies to get his way.
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devious
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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devious
adjective
- Not straightforward; shifty: a devious character.
- Departing from the correct or accepted way; erring: achieved success by devious means.
- Deviating from the straight or direct course; roundabout: a devious route.
- Away from a main road or course; distant or removed.
Origin of devious
From Latin dēvius out-of-the-way dē- de- via road ; see wegh- in Indo-European roots.Related Forms:
- de′vi·ous·ly
adverb
- de′vi·ous·ness
noun
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Devious. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Devious
Adjective
(comparative more devious, superlative most devious)
- Deviating; not straightforward or honest, not frank; not standard.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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"Devious." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Devious.
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Devious. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Devious
Sentence Examples
- Our human thought pursues devious and circuitous methods.
- After a devious chase of a month Hood moved across Alabama to northern Mississippi.
- She made raised maps in clay, so that I could feel the mountain ridges and valleys, and follow with my fingers the devious course of rivers.
- The difference between English and Roman miles would be compensated for by the more devious course taken by the railway.
- The Thames follows a devious course through London, and the fine embankments on its north side, nowhere continuing uninterruptedly for more than 2 m., do not form important thoroughfares, with the exception of the Victoria Embankment.
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WORDS NEAR devious IN THE DICTIONARY
- devious
- deviltry
- devilwood
- devilwoods