tive, dodging, evasive, deviating; circuitous, winding, curvy, worming, flexuous, sinuous, anfractuous, tortuous, serpentine, zigzag; vagrant, wandering, meandering, unsettled, unstable.
2. tricky, cunning, crafty, sly, wily, foxy, snaky, artful, subtle; insidious, guileful, scheming, designing, contriving, plotting, calculating, Machiavellian; shifty, slippery, smooth, slick; sneaky, stealthy, furtive, secretive, secret, surreptitious; deceitful, deceptive, delusive, misleading, prevaricative, subreptitious; crooked, dishonest, insincere, disingenuous, underhanded, Inf. left-handed. devise, v. 1. concoct, scheme, contrive, arrange, project, design, work out, plan, plan for; originate, invent, create, compose, excogitate; design, draft, frame, coin, mint, shape, construct, work up; think up, Sl. dope out, hit upon, dream up, spin, make up; fabricate, fashion, hatch, put together, order; improvise, plot, conjure up, neologize, neoterize, germinate, formulate, form.
-n. 2. Law. will, bequeath, bestow, confer, hand down, convey, transfer, devoid, adj. void, destitute, bare, barren, bald, denuded; lacking, wanting, deficient; depleted, short, empty, out; without, sans, devote, v. 1. assign, apply, commit, consign; allot, allocate, set aside, set apart.
2. (often of oneself) give, offer, pledge, surrender, dedicate; bless, sanctify, hallow, consecrate, make holy, devoted, adj. 1. faithful, true, true blue, loyal; unremitting, untiring, indefatigable, persistent, persevering, tenacious, determined; earnest, attentive, eager, ardent, zealous; addicted, hooked.
2. intimate, fond, loving, amorous, affectionate, admiring, infatuated; tender, warm, close, cordial.
3. dedicated, pledged, promised, vowed; consecrated, sanctified, hallowed, holy, sacred, blessed. devotee, n. 1. votary, champion, follower, disciple, satellite, adherent; zealot, partisan, bigot, fanatic; visionary, cultist, sectary; believer, religionist, pietist.
2. enthusiast, fan, aficionado, Inf. buff, Inf. hound, Sl. bug, Sl. nut; addict, Inf. fiend, Sl. junkie, Sl. freak, Sl. head; (all usu. of adolescent girls) (in the 40s) bob-bysoxer, (in the 60s) teenybopper, (in the 70s) groupie.
3. promoter, supporter, Inf. pusher, Inf booster, Inf. arm-waver; chauvinist, jingoist. devotion, n. 1. prayer, religious worship, worship, homage, reverence, veneration, adoration, laudation, glorification; thanksgiving, grace, blessing, benediction; dedication, consecration, sanctification; service, observance, prayer meeting, mass, vespers, matins.
2. piety, devoutness, godliness, saintliness, spirituality, holiness, sanctity, religiousness; religiosity, pietism.
3. loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity, constancy, fealty, steadfastness; respect, deference, obeisance.
4. ardor, fervor, passion, fanaticism, fire; zeal, enthusiasm, eagerness, earnestness, willingness, readiness; diligence, perseverance, assiduity, sedulousness, Inf. stick-to-it-iveness.
5. love, strong affection, devotedness, attachment, adherence; idolization, infatuation, enchantment; esteem, fondness, liking, regard, admiration, inclination, fancy, yearning. devotional, adj. 1. devout, pious, reverential, religious, worshipful, prayerful; godly, saintly, spiritual.
2. holy, sacred, sanctified, blessed, consecrated; solemn, dedicated, hallowed, ceremonial, devour, v. 1. swallow, gulp, eat up, swallow up, gulp down, gobble, bolt, wolf, raven, Inf. put away or down, Inf. pack away or in; banquet, feast, gobble up, gormandize, gluttonize, gorge, stuff, cram, make a pig of oneself, eat greedily, Sl. eat like there's no tomorrow,