Standard Lemma guide

canny

adj · adv · name · 11 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈkæni/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -æni
  • homophone: kanny
  • CMU ARPABET: K AE1 N IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Careful, prudent, cautious.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The politician gave a canny response to the reporter’s questions.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Knowing, shrewd, astute.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The canny lawyer knew just how to get what he wanted.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Frugal, thrifty.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • canny investments

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: abstemious, canny, chary, moderate, cheap, close with a buck, economic, economical, frugal, husbandly, huswifely, parsimonious, penny-pinching, prudent, spareful, sparing, spary, thrifty, tight, tightwad

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Friendly, pleasant, fair, agreeable; (sometimes) funny.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Northumbria, Scotland

Examples

  • She’s a canny lass hor like!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adj

Meaning 5

Gentle, quiet, steady.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Northumbria, Scotland

Examples

  • a canny horse
  • Be canny with this letter.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adj

Meaning 6

Natural, normal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: proscribed

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adj

Meaning 7

Sounding as if it is coming through a tin can.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: especially

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

adv

Meaning 8

Very, considerably; quite, rather.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Northumbria, not-comparable

Examples

  • a canny long journey
  • canny near home
  • That’s a canny big horse, man!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

adv

Meaning 9

Gently, quietly; carefully, skilfully.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Northumbria, Scotland, not-comparable

Examples

  • he sits very canny
  • drive canny

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

name

Meaning 10

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

adjective satellite

Meaning 11

showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a cagey lawyer
  • too clever to be sound

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cagey, cagy, clever

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Northern English dialect, from can (“to know”) ( + -y), from Middle English can, first and third person singular of cunnen, connen (“to be able, know how to”), from Old English cunnan (“to know how to, be able to”). Compare Scots canny, English cunny, Old English cann (“knowledge, assertion”). More at can, cunning.

Back-formation from uncanny.

can (“more or less cylindrical metal container”) + -y

Across languages

Translations

33 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: внимателен (vnimatelen) — careful, prudent, cautious
  • Bulgarian: предпазлив (predpazliv) — careful, prudent, cautious
  • Czech: opatrný — careful, prudent, cautious
  • Finnish: varovainen — careful, prudent, cautious
  • French: prudent — careful, prudent, cautious
  • German: vorsichtig — careful, prudent, cautious
  • Māori: matawhāiti — careful, prudent, cautious
  • Romanian: prudent — careful, prudent, cautious
  • Russian: осмотрительный (osmotritelʹnyj) — careful, prudent, cautious
  • Russian: осторо́жный (ostoróžnyj) — careful, prudent, cautious
  • Spanish: cauteloso — careful, prudent, cautious
  • Swedish: försiktig — careful, prudent, cautious
  • Bulgarian: хитър (hitǎr) — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • Bulgarian: ловък (lovǎk) — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • Czech: chytrý — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • Czech: mazaný — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • Czech: prohnaný — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • French: rusé — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • French: astucieux — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • German: schlau — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • German: pfiffig — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • German: verschmitzt — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • Māori: ihumanea — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • Polish: obrotny — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • Polish: sprytny — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • Romanian: cunoscător — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • Romanian: priceput — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • Romanian: experimentat — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • Spanish: astuto — knowing, shrewd, astute
  • Dutch: heel — very, much
  • German: völlig — very, much
  • German: sehr — very, much
  • German: ganz — very, much