What's the difference between guile and wily?

Guile


Definition:

  • (n.) Craft; deceitful cunning; artifice; duplicity; wile; deceit; treachery.
  • (n.) To disguise or conceal; to deceive or delude.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The home side lost Raheem Sterling, who injured a groin in a challenge with Juan Mata, and even when they pinned back their opponents for periods of the second half it was a lot of huff and puff without too much guile.
  • (2) Lord of the Rings made him the doomed anti-hero , he was easily the best thing in the disastrous Troy, giving Odysseus guile, wit and that familiar, rough-edged charm, and he terrified TV viewers as property developer John Dawson in the dark and brilliant Red Riding .
  • (3) Before coming back to Afghanistan I was worried I would not be able to take photographs again in the way I used to, that my injuries would leave me incapable of the movement and guile needed to be a good photographer.
  • (4) But later, by the time he was selling out theatres for his live shows, that gawky guile and snotty cheek had morphed into relentless anxiety and slapstick self-consciousness.
  • (5) Once they got to grips with Leicester’s zeal, Villa began to demonstrate the greater guile.
  • (6) The loss of the Brazilian's speed and guile on the left forced Toppmöller to reorganise his attack.
  • (7) Yet what's most apparent on meeting Russell is an almost complete lack of guile.
  • (8) In an act of political guile, Clegg negotiated with both parties in secret, not telling the other what he was doing in a bid to maximise his strength.
  • (9) Likewise, whoever is chosen to attack down the right must show enough guile and speed to beat his man on the outside and draw Slovenian defenders out of the middle.
  • (10) In London he instantly caught the imagination with his dash and guile.
  • (11) After he became President Ten Per Cent in 1965, his income from kickbacks for government contracts increased, but his guile went no further than stashing $215,000 in a New York bank in his own name.
  • (12) It's his spirit, his guile, his unflappable conviction in professional knowledge and practice that you need to channel.
  • (13) This victory took West Ham nine points clear of 18th-placed Sunderland, whom they visit on Monday, yet such a chasm seems remarkable given the way this team spluttered as they did for long periods here, their football lacking guile and purpose even if the manager said they were "absolutely magnificent".
  • (14) Straw has been Blackburn's MP for 33 years; he replaced Barbara Castle, for whom he had worked as a special adviser (something of a talent-spotter, Castle once said that she had employed Straw for his "guile and low cunning").
  • (15) Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, has gotten this far with a guile that allows him to say whatever he thinks an audience wants to hear.
  • (16) Miliband has shown more courage and guile than many expected.
  • (17) And in the end Ireland lacked the guile and patience to craft the one clear chance their energy might have deserved.
  • (18) Evergreen striker Paul Ifill, playing his 100th game for the Phoenix, provided an injection of pace and guile when he came on after 65 minutes but, although opportunities were created, the finishing wasn't there.
  • (19) Given the guile of those courtiers, that's quite a task: he'll need all the support he can get.
  • (20) Del Piero must be aware of his stature in the game and this was, of course, the Italian using all that aforementioned experience and guile to Sydney’s advantage, just in a different way.

Wily


Definition:

  • (superl.) Full of wiles, tricks, or stratagems; using craft or stratagem to accomplish a purpose; mischievously artful; subtle.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) They could go out and trade for a pitcher such as the New York Mets’ Bartolo Colón , an obvious choice despite his 41 years, but he would come with an $11m price tag for next season and have to pass through the waiver wires process first – considering the wily mood Billy Beane is in this year, the A’s could be the team that blocks such a move.
  • (2) A wily character, he initially refused, saying the deadline was impossible.
  • (3) Noted for his Savile Row suits and languid charm, he was nevertheless a tough and wily reporter in the field, using his wits to escape death on more than one occasion.
  • (4) The News of the World said it was £750,000 ("Wily Vanessa teamed up with PR to the stars Max Clifford and the pound signs began rolling in her eyes," its reporter claimed).
  • (5) on Saturday the Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott summed up the feelings of many in the party when he suggested that the "wily" Tories had deliberately used their coalition partners as shields to deflect public anger.
  • (6) Scotland shows how that can give an illusion of success which will evaporate at the moment of choice, especially when up against a wily and ruthless incumbent.
  • (7) The wily Brazilian, managing in a record sixth World Cup, said he would make "one, maybe two" changes to the starting line‑up.
  • (8) Wily and smart, she is more than a match for the suitors who attempt to claim her in his absence; and she is no pushover, either, when Odysseus finally turns up.
  • (9) Opinion polls in recent months have repeatedly shown that Tsvangirai's popularity has been hurt by divisions within the opposition and his own scandalous love-life , putting him and Mugabe neck-and-neck, with the wily president even edging in front on occasion.
  • (10) Harradine was a wily negotiator and kept Howard guessing on his support for the goods and services tax.
  • (11) Team spirit might be an ethereal quality that is difficult to quantify on scoreboards and league tables but Karanka has given confidence to the players he inherited, been a wily transfer dealer, particularly this season with the loan signings of the strikers Patrick Bamford and Jelle Vossen, and brought through young home-grown players from the club’s academy, such as Ben Gibson and Adam Reach, who are now integral members of the squad.
  • (12) But out of nothing, Frank Farina's men were awarded a penalty just before half-time won by the wily Del Piero.
  • (13) Guns, gates and guards can only provide so much protection against a wily, creative adversary who is willing to risk oblivion.
  • (14) The wily old tease may have been mugging for the studio audience, lapping up the howls of disappointment that no doubt followed such a statement.
  • (15) A blizzard of visual sexual signifiers – fake nails, big hair, Dita Von Teese figure balanced on impossibly high stilts – and her "Jessica Rabbit sex appeal" (again, self-proclaimed) belies a wily business brain.
  • (16) Wily Ukraine national coach Oleg Blokhin also tasted victory in court after he was forced to resign from the position because of his other job, as a Ukrainian MP.
  • (17) He flew to Brazil hoping to bring him back, but he had underestimated the wily Biggs whose girlfriend, Raimunda, announced that she was expecting his child.
  • (18) Wily David Carney chalked one up for the nay-saying ageists by outfoxing youngster Thomas Deng to execute a superb run and finish, one which was harder than it may have seemed.
  • (19) After Cantor fell, McCarthy showed himself a wily tactician, coming fast out of the block and letting it be known he was the heir apparent with the necessary votes, all but sealing the majority leader race within 48 hours.
  • (20) So, when browsing, an open mind is far more effective than knowing exactly what you want – eBay works topically, so avoid anything worn by Kate Middleton and all high-street capsule collections, eg last week's Versace line for H&M, which wily types bought en masse and are currently reselling at marked-up prices.