Cunning
Cunning adjective - Clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means.
Usage example: a cunning, underhanded plan to win the election by preying on people's fears and prejudices
Scheming is a synonym for cunning in ability topic. In some cases you can use "Scheming" instead the word "Cunning" as an adjective or a noun, when it comes to topics like crafty.
Nearby Word: cunningly
Scheming
Scheming adjective - Clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means.
Usage example: the novel is about an elderly man and his scheming son who is impatient to inherit the family fortune
Cunning is a synonym for scheming in ability topic. You can use "Cunning" instead the word "Scheming" as an adjective or a noun, if it concerns topics such as calculating, deceitful.
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
- Most of his characters tends to be extremely sadistic, cunning and scheming, mostly on the intelligence side.His three most infamous roles: Freeza of Dragon Ball Z, Mayuri Kurotsuchi of Bleach and Caesar Clown of One Piece pretty much sums up the quality of his main forte roles.
Source: Creator / Ryusei Nakao -
Tzeentch and his servants are often mistaken for this by virtue of their scheming, cunning and seemingly methodical nature.
Source: Lawful Evil -
Smug Snake: Manfred Powell is a cunning member of the Illuminati inner circle, scheming his way to the top and not above killing his boss.
Cite this Source
Scheming and Cunning. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/cunning/scheming
Cunning & Scheming. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/cunning/scheming>.
Scheming or Cunning. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/cunning/scheming.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "cunning" and "scheming" have occurred on timeline