Cunning means being cleverly skilled at getting what you want, often by using trickery or indirect methods rather than being open and straightforward.

Core meaning

  • In modern English, cunning usually describes someone who is clever in a slightly sneaky or deceptive way, like “a cunning plan” or “a cunning liar.”
  • It combines intelligence with strategy: you think ahead, find loopholes, and outsmart others to reach your goal.

Positive vs negative sense

  • Negative: often implies dishonesty or cheating, for example “a cunning criminal” or “low cunning” used to trick people.
  • Neutral/positive: can also mean skillful and ingenious, like “a cunning piece of detective work” where the focus is on smart problem‑solving, not on being evil.

Simple examples

  • “She was cunning enough to fool me” → she used clever, possibly sneaky tactics to deceive me.
  • “A cunning plan” → a very smart, well‑thought‑out strategy, often with a twist that others don’t see.

TL;DR: If someone asks “what does cunning mean,” you can say: “Cunning means cleverly getting what you want, often by using trickery or indirect, sneaky methods.”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.