Full of deceit or cunning; dishonest and tricky in a clever way.
From 'guile' (Old French 'guile' meaning 'deception') plus the suffix '-ful.' The base word comes from Germanic roots meaning 'craft' or 'cunning,' evolving to mean deception.
Shakespeare and medieval writers loved this word because it perfectly captures calculated dishonesty—not obvious lying, but the sophisticated trickery of someone smart enough to deceive you convincingly.
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