From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdeviousde‧vi‧ous /ˈdiːviəs/ ●○○ adjective 1 DISHONESTusing dishonest tricks and deceiving people in order to get what you want → deceitful a devious politician► see thesaurus at dishonest2 formalSTRAIGHT# not going in the most direct way to get to a place SYN circuitous a devious route —deviously adverb —deviousness noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
devious• His relationship with the universe becomes more subtle and devious.• Or was it as devious as that?• He was raucous, sentimental, hot. tempered, practical, simple, devious, big, and powerful.• He might be devious, but he was not without principles.• Their method of collecting money was devious, but not illegal.• In the film, he plays a devious defence lawyer named Richard Adler.• Opportunism is a devious kind of self-interested behaviour.• She says we have devious minds!• You have to be pretty devious to be successful in that sort of business.• He infuriated his allies with his arbitrary decisions and devious ways.From Longman Business Dictionarydeviousde‧vi‧ous /ˈdiːviəs/ adjective using dishonest tricks and deceiving people to get what you wantHe’s an honest businessman, not the devious executive the government says he is. —deviously adverb —deviousness noun [uncountable]the deviousness of some of the advertising aimed at childrenOrigin devious (1500-1600) Latin devius, from via “way” 