adj. characterized by elaborate scheming and intrigue; devious; "Byzantine methods for holding on to his chairmanship"; "a fine hand for Byzantine deals and cozy arrangements"

adj. not straightforward; "his tortuous reasoning"

adj. used of persons; "the most calculating and selfish men in the community"

adj. of or relating to Machiavelli or the principles of conduct he recommended; "Machiavellian thinking"

adj. deviating from a straight course; "a scenic but devious route"; "a long and circuitous journey by train and boat"; "a roundabout route avoided rush-hour traffic"

adj. concealing crafty designs for advancing your own interest; "a selfish and designing nation obsessed with the dark schemes of European intrigue"- W.Churchill; "a scheming wife"; "a scheming gold digger"

adj. marked by skill in deception; "cunning men often pass for wise"; "deep political machinations"; "a foxy scheme"; "a slick evasive answer"; "sly as a fox"; "tricky Dick"; "a wily old attorney"

adj. professing feelings or virtues one does not have; "hypocritical praise"

adj. not straight; dishonest or immoral or evasive

adj. deceptive or fraudulent; disposed to cheat or defraud or deceive

adj. marked by deception; "achieved success in business only by underhand methods"

adj. characterized by insincerity or deceit; evasive; "a devious character"; "shifty eyes"

adj. tending to betray; especially having a treacherous character as attributed to the Carthaginians by the Romans; "Punic faith"; "the perfidious Judas"; "the fiercest and most treacherous of foes"; "treacherous intrigues"

adj. not adhering to ethical or moral principles; "base and unpatriotic motives"; "a base, degrading way of life"; "cheating is dishonorable"; "they considered colonialism immoral"; "unethical practices in handling public funds"

adj. skillful (or showing skill) in adapting means to ends; "cool prudence and sensitive selfishness along with quick perception of what is possible--these distinguish an adroit politician"; "came up with a clever story"; "an ingenious press agent"; "an ingenious scheme"

adj. marked by skill in deception; "cunning men often pass for wise"; "deep political machinations"; "a foxy scheme"; "a slick evasive answer"; "sly as a fox"; "tricky Dick"; "a wily old attorney"

adj. obviously contrived to charm; "an insufferably precious performance"; "a child with intolerably cute mannerisms"

adj. concealing crafty designs for advancing your own interest; "a selfish and designing nation obsessed with the dark schemes of European intrigue"- W.Churchill; "a scheming wife"; "a scheming gold digger"

adj. skillful in influencing or controlling others to your own advantage; "the early manipulative techniques of a three-year-old child"

adj. characterized by indirect references; "allusive speech is characterized by allusions"

adj. roundabout or ambiguous; "attacks from that source amounted to a backhanded compliment to his integrity"; "a backhanded and dishonest way of reaching his goal"

adj. roundabout and unnecessarily wordy; "had a preference for circumlocutious (or circumlocutory) rather than forthright expression"; "A periphrastic study in a worn-out poetical fashion,/ Leaving one still with the intolerable wrestle/ With words and meanings."-T.S.Eliot; (`ambagious' is archaic)

adj. (of e.g. speech and writing) tending to depart from the main point or cover a wide range of subjects; "amusingly digressive with satirical thrusts at women's fashions among other things"; "a rambling discursive book"; "his excursive remarks"; "a rambling speech about this and that"

adj. avoiding the issue; not straightforward: "an evasive statement"

adj. heard through another rather than directly; "hearsay information"

adj. hesitant to state facts or opinions simply and directly as from e.g. timidity or hypocrisy; "a mealymouthed politician"

adj. having an intended meaning altered or misrepresented; "many of the facts seemed twisted out of any semblance to reality"; "a perverted translation of the poem"

adj. not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent; "honest lawyers"; "honest reporting"; "an honest wage"; "honest weight"