13 uses
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1 —1 use as in:
a cunning thief
Definition
being good at achieving goals through cleverness — and typically through deception as well (tricking others)
- If he was still following, he was very wary and cunning.2.9 — Book 2 Chapter 9 — The Great River (32% in)
cunning = clever and deceptive
There are no more uses of "cunning" flagged with this meaning in The Fellowship of the Ring.
Typical Usage
(best examples)
? —12 uses
exact meaning not specified
- For my hope was founded on a fat man in Bree; and my fear was founded on the cunning of Sauron.2.2 — Book 2 Chapter 2 — The Council of Elrond (68% in)
- Trolls were abroad, no longer dull-witted, but cunning and armed with dreadful weapons.1.2 — Book 1 Chapter 2 — The Shadow of the Past (9% in)
- No one ever found out what had become of Deal; he was murdered far from home, and his body was cunningly hidden.1.2 — Book 1 Chapter 2 — The Shadow of the Past (51% in)
- Light, light of Sun and Moon, he still feared and hated, and he always will, I think; but he was cunning.1.2 — Book 1 Chapter 2 — The Shadow of the Past (68% in)
- Old grey Willow-man, he's a mighty singer; and it's hard for little folk to escape his cunning mazes.1.7 — Book 1 Chapter 7 — In the House of Tom Bombadil (27% in)
- But none were more dangerous than the Great Willow: his heart was rotten, but his strength was green; and he was cunning, and a master of winds, and his song and thought ran through the woods on both sides of the river.1.7 — Book 1 Chapter 7 — In the House of Tom Bombadil (64% in)
- Indeed so much did Tom know, and so cunning was his questioning, that Frodo found himself telling him more about Bilbo and his own hopes and fears than he had told before even to Gandalf.1.7 — Book 1 Chapter 7 — In the House of Tom Bombadil (87% in)
- It ran cunningly, taking a line that seemed chosen so as to keep as much hidden as possible from the view, both of the hill-tops above and of the flats to the west.1.11 — Book 1 Chapter 11 — A Knife in the Dark (47% in)
- You have shown your usual cunning in getting up just in time for a meal.2.1 — Book 2 Chapter 1 — Many Meetings (41% in)
- How that was contrived we cannot guess; but Gollum is cunning, and the spies of the Enemy are many.2.2 — Book 2 Chapter 2 — The Council of Elrond (52% in)
- It has seldom been heard of that Gandalf the Grey sought for aid, one so cunning and so wise, wandering about the lands, and concerning himself in every business, whether it belongs to him or not.2.2 — Book 2 Chapter 2 — The Council of Elrond (60% in)
- It was dark, but not too dark for the night-eyes of Orcs, and in the star-glimmer they must have offered their cunning foes some mark, unless it was that the grey cloaks Of Lorien and the grey timber of the elf-wrought boats defeated the malice of the archers of Mordor.2.9 — Book 2 Chapter 9 — The Great River (47% in)
There are no more uses of "cunning" in The Fellowship of the Ring.
Typical Usage
(best examples)