What does deviousness mean?
Deviousness is the noun describing the quality of being devious — that is, habitually resorting to dishonest, roundabout, or underhand methods rather than acting openly and directly. It most often characterizes people and their conduct: a politician's deviousness, a colleague's deviousness, or the deviousness of a scheme designed to mislead. The word carries a strongly negative connotation, implying not merely occasional dishonesty but an ingrained disposition toward manipulation and concealment. Less commonly, it retains its older, literal sense of physical indirectness — the winding quality of a road or river — though this usage is now largely literary. The word derives from Latin devius ('out of the way'), via the adjective devious, which entered English in the late sixteenth century. It remains a useful term for condemning duplicity with precision, sitting alongside words like guile and cunning but emphasizing the systematic avoidance of straightforward dealing.
The quality of being devious: the habitual use of dishonest or indirect methods to achieve one's ends.
"His political success owed less to principle than to sheer deviousness."
Almost always pejorative when applied to persons or their actions.
The quality of a route or course that winds or turns aside from the direct way.
"We lost count of the bends — such was the deviousness of the mountain track."
A literary, largely archaic sense.
Rarely pluralized; the word normally functions as an uncountable mass noun denoting a quality.
"Such deviousnesses are better met with candor than with counter-schemes."
Deviousness literally means 'off-road thinking' — it comes from the Latin devius, meaning 'out of the way', so a devious person is one who refuses to take the straight path.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of deviousness
Deviousness is formed from the adjective devious, which English borrowed from Latin devius, meaning 'out of the way' or 'off the main road', a compound of de- ('away') and via ('road'). The adjective entered English in the late sixteenth century, first carrying the literal sense of wandering off a direct path before acquiring its figurative sense of departing from honesty and straightforwardness. The abstract noun deviousness followed as a regular derivation, sharing its root with related borrowings such as deviate, deviation, and deviant, all built on the same Latin via.
Related word forms
How deviousness is actually used
Predominantly used with negative connotations to describe character or behavior involving trickery; the literal 'winding' sense is rarer and largely literary.
Easily confused with deviousness
Deviance refers to behavior that departs from accepted social norms, whereas deviousness refers to deliberate cunning and dishonesty.