weasel
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
weasel
- /ˈwiːz(ə)l/ UK
- /ˈwizəl/ US
- /ˈwizl̩/ US
Rhymes with -iːzəl
Where it comes from
From Middle English wesele, from Old English weosule, from Proto-West Germanic *wisulā, from Proto-Germanic *wisulǭ.
The verb is from c. 1900, from the supposed cunningness of the weasel.
noun weasels · weazel · weazle
-
Any of the carnivorous mammals of the genera Mustela, Neogale, Poecilogale, and Lyncodon, having a slender body, a long tail and usually a light brown upper coat and light-coloured belly.
An old traditional prescription for provoking erotic inclinations ran as follows, The toe of the foot of a man, anointed with oil, or honey, or the ashes of a weasel.
Similar: mustela
- A least weasel (Mustela nivalis).
- Any of certain other species of the family Mustelidae.
- A devious or sneaky person or animal, or a statement that is technically true but intentionally misleading. Once you've gone beyond the scripted speeches, soundbites and cliches, you'll notice how the debate about leadership is primarily divided between the three governors and two senators, the other two weasels, Donald Trump and Ben Carson notwithstanding.
- A type of yarn winder used for counting the yardage of handspun yarn; spinner's weasel. It most commonly has a wooden peg or dowel that pops up from the gearing mechanism after a certain number of yards have been wound onto the winder.
verb weasels · weaseling · weaselling · weaseled · weaselled
- To achieve by clever or devious means. Prisoners are notorious for weaseling day passes to get out of lockup […] .
- To gain something for oneself by clever or devious means. He's weaseled himself into a position where he can influence the outcome of this election.
- To engage in clever or devious behavior. Authority figures have a history of weaseling on this topic.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: ferret, badger, skunk, mouse, rat, shark, mole, scumbag, creep, smile, dork, snoop, misleading, equivocal, ambiguous, least weasel
Translations
Every language
noun least weasel, Mustela nivalis
| Español | comadreja, mustela, turón |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 족제비 jokjebi |
| 日本語 | イタチ itachi, 鼬 itachi, 鼬鼠 itachi, 飯綱 īzuna |
| 中文 | 伶鼬 língyòu, 銀鼠 /银鼠 |
| हिन्दी | रासू rāsū |
| Português | doninha |
| Français | belette, belette d'Europe, belette pygmée, petite belette, fouine |
| Deutsch | Wiesel, Mauswiesel, Zwergwiesel, Kleinwiesel, Hermännchen |
| Italiano | donnola |
| Ελληνικά | νυφίτσα nyfítsa |
| Română | nevăstuică |
| Русский | ла́ска láska |
| العربية | اِبْن عِرْس ibn ʕirs, عِرْسَة ʕirsa |
| עברית | חָמוֹס ḥamós |
noun yarn winder
| Ελληνικά | ανέμη anémi |
|---|
verb to weasel out of doing something
| Русский | уви́ливать uvílivatʹ, увильну́ть uvilʹnútʹ |
|---|
Talk about this word "weasel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/weasel. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. weasel. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/weasel "weasel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/weasel.Cite this
@misc{weasel_2026,
title = {weasel},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/weasel},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
