devious
hinterhältig – hinterhältiger – am hinterhältigsten
Loading your saved state.
devious
Acting with hidden malicious intent, often while appearing friendly or harmless. Also describes actions intended to harm someone in a secretive, unfair way.
Er tat freundlich, doch in Wahrheit war er hinterhältig und verbreitete heimlich Gerüchte über sie.
He acted friendly, but in reality he was devious and secretly spread rumors about her.
| basic form | hinterhältig |
|---|---|
| comparative | hinterhältiger |
| superlative | am hinterhältigsten |
| masc. | fem. | neut. | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | -e | -e | -e | -en |
| acc. | -en | -e | -e | -en |
| dat. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
| gen. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
Add the ending to hinterhältig.
| masc. | fem. | neut. | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | -er | -e | -es | -en |
| acc. | -en | -e | -es | -en |
| dat. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
| gen. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
Add the ending to hinterhältig.
| masc. | fem. | neut. | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | -er | -e | -es | -e |
| acc. | -en | -e | -es | -e |
| dat. | -em | -er | -em | -en |
| gen. | -en | -er | -en | -er |
Add the ending to hinterhältig.
To express a judgment, the pattern 'Es ist hinterhältig von jemandem, etwas zu tun' (It is devious of someone to do something) is often used. After 'von', the person performing the action is in the dative case, followed by an infinitive with 'zu'.
Es war hinterhältig von ihm, die vertrauliche Information weiterzugeben.
It was devious of him to pass on the confidential information.
'Hinterhältig' (devious) often occurs with words such as 'Angriff' (attack), 'Taktik' (tactic), 'Verhalten' (behavior), 'Bemerkung' (remark), and 'Plan' (plan). It usually describes an action or strategy whose unfair intent is not immediately apparent.
Der hinterhältige Angriff kam völlig unerwartet.
The devious attack came completely out of the blue.
The adjective conveys a clearly negative moral judgment and is therefore mostly used in accusations, conflicts, or critical reports. It is too judgmental for a purely factual description.
Sie bezeichnete sein Verhalten als hinterhältig und brach das Gespräch ab.
She described his behavior as devious and ended the conversation.
