Did you know?
The "Lost" History of Devious
If you think someone devious has lost their way, you're right, etymologically speaking—the word derives from the Latin adjective devius, itself formed from the prefix de- ("from" or "away") and the noun via ("way"). When devious was first used in the 16th century, it implied a literal wandering off the way, suggesting something that meandered or had no fixed course (as in "a devious route" or "devious breezes"). Relatively quickly, however, the word came to describe someone or something that had left the right path metaphorically rather than literally, or to describe deceitful rather than straightforward behavior.
Examples of devious in a Sentence
Eli Amdur, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025
Expose every last devious aspect of the terror attack — all the countries that looked the other way and the spy agencies that failed fellow Americans.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 15 July 2025
This comedic musical tale about ambition, love, family and devious murder plots will have playgoers gasping with laughter and reveling in its lively, imaginative score, a news release stated.
—Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 July 2025
But prosecutors said Patterson secretly despised her husband’s family and concocted the devious plot to kill them, then lied about numerous parts of it.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 7 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for devious
Cite this Entry
“Devious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devious. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
devious
adjective
Share