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wile

Pronunciation: /wʌɪl/
Definition of wile

noun

(wiles)
  • devious or cunning stratagems employed in manipulating or persuading someone to do what one wants: she had been trying out her feminine wiles on Sam

verb

[with object]
  • 1 archaic lure; entice:she could be neither driven nor wiled into the parish kirk
  • 2 (wile something away)another way of saying while something away.the gang had played monopoly as they wiled away the hoursSee while.

Origin:

Middle English: perhaps from an Old Norse word related to vél 'craft'

Spelling help

Remember that wiles and the related word wily begin with wi-.

wile in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of wile in the US English dictionary

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