cunning vs knowing

cunning

adj
  • Sly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour. 

noun
  • The natural wit or instincts of an animal. 

  • The disposition to employ one's skill in an artful manner; craftiness; guile; artifice; skill of being cunning, sly, conniving, or deceitful. 

  • Practical knowledge or experience; aptitude in performance; skill, proficiency; dexterity. 

  • Practical skill employed in a secret or crafty manner; craft; artifice; skillful deceit; art or magic. 

knowing

adj
  • Shrewd or showing clever awareness; discerning. 

  • The ability to know something without being taught. 

  • Suggestive of private knowledge or understanding. 

  • Possessing knowledge or understanding; knowledgeable, intelligent. 

  • Deliberate, wilful. 

  • Demonstrating knowledge of what is in fashion; stylish, chic. 

noun
  • The act or condition of having knowledge. 

prep
  • Given my knowledge about someone or something. 

How often have the words cunning and knowing occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )