Cunning
Cunning noun - Subtle or imaginative ability in inventing, devising, or executing something.
Usage example: the unmatched cunning of the scout who led them safely through the trackless wilderness
Skill is a synonym for cunning in artifice topic. In some cases you can use "Skill" instead a noun "Cunning", when it comes to topics like ingenuity.
Nearby Word: cunningly
Skill
Skill noun - Subtle or imaginative ability in inventing, devising, or executing something.
Usage example: with unbelievable skill, the expert in origami transformed a few sheets of paper into a menagerie of exotic animals
Cunning is a synonym for skill in ability topic. Sometimes you can use "Cunning" instead a noun "Skill", if it concerns topics such as artifice, ingenuity.
Mutual synonyms
How words are described
| high | high cunning | high skill |
| low | low cunning | low skill |
| pure | pure cunning | pure skill |
| natural | natural cunning | natural skill |
| Other adjectives: exceptional, certain, considerable, true, sheer, raw, real, extreme, great, superior, remarkable, necessary, new, incredible, military, greater, martial, technical, tactical. | ||
Both words in one sentence
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Brains: Evil; Brawn: Good: The rebellious angels use their cunning and skill to invent guns, and turn back the loyal angels for a moment.
Source: Literature / Paradise Lost -
Shout-Out: Tavi's name is based on Rikki Tikki Tavi, a mongoose that regularly overcomes greater foes with cunning and skill in the works of Rudyard Kipling.
Source: Literature / Codex Alera -
Dark Eldar are almost exactly the same as the Orks, except replace size and toughness with skill and cunning.
Cite this Source
Skill and Cunning. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/cunning/skill
Cunning & Skill. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/cunning/skill>.
Skill or Cunning. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/cunning/skill.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "cunning" and "skill" have occurred on timeline