This adjective describes someone cunning, clever, or crafty—typically with negative connotations of slyness or deceit. Paul uses it in 2 Corinthians, where he defends against accusations of using craftiness to manipulate the Corinthians. The word can mean simply clever or resourceful, but often carries the overtone of unscrupulous cleverness, the fox's cunning. It suggests intelligence deployed for self-serving or deceptive ends. The term evokes the slippery operator who outsmarts others through guile.