insidious
English · Thesaurus
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insidious
- /ɪnˈsɪdi.əs/
Rhymes with -ɪdiəs
Where it comes from
From Middle French insidieux, from Latin īnsidiōsus (“cunning, artful, deceitful”), from īnsidiae (“a lying in wait, an ambush, artifice, stratagem”) + -ōsus, from īnsideō (“to sit in or on”), from in (“in, on”) + sedeō (“to sit”).
adjective more insidious · most insidious
-
Causing harm in a stealthy, often gradual, manner.
Strong and vigorous man as he looks, Livingstone has been for years the victim of a secret and insidious disease.
Similar: subtle
- Intending to entrap; alluring but harmful. Hansel and Gretel were lured by the witch’s insidious gingerbread house.
-
Treacherous.
The battle was lost due to the actions of insidious defectors.
Similar: perfidious, proditorious, traitorous, booky, dastardly, disleal, disloyal, double-crossing, double-dealing, double-faced, double-hearted, doublehearted
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: pernicious, harmful, subtle, dangerous, unsafe, seductive, underhand, sneaky, stealthy, sneak, sly, devious, cunning, wily, perverted, deceptive
Translations
Every language
adj causing harm in a stealthy, often gradual, manner
| Español | insidioso |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 陰險 /阴险 yīnxiǎn, 狡詐 /狡诈 jiǎozhà, 潛移默化的 /潜移默化的 qiányímòhuà de |
| Português | insidioso |
| Français | insidieux |
| Deutsch | heimtückisch, schleichend |
| Italiano | insidioso |
| Română | insidios |
| Русский | кова́рный kovárnyj, скры́тый skrýtyj, хи́трый xítryj |
adj intending to entrap
| Español | insidioso |
|---|---|
| Português | insidiador |
| Deutsch | heimtückisch, hinterhältig, hinterlistig |
| Italiano | subdolo |
| Русский | кова́рный kovárnyj |
Talk about this word "insidious." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/insidious. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. insidious. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/insidious "insidious." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/insidious.Cite this
@misc{insidious_2026,
title = {insidious},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/insidious},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
