trickery

noun

trick·​ery ˈtri-k(ə-)rē 

: the practice of crafty underhanded ingenuity to deceive or cheat

Synonyms

• deception
• subterfuge
• treachery
• skullduggery
• deceptiveness
• chicanery
• cunning
• jugglery
• gamesmanship
• skulduggery
• legerdemain
• artfulness

Choose the Right Synonym for trickery

deception, fraud, double-dealing, subterfuge, trickery mean the acts or practices of one who deliberately deceives.

deception may or may not imply blameworthiness, since it may suggest cheating or merely tactical resource.

magicians are masters of deception

fraud always implies guilt and often criminality in act or practice.

indicted for fraud

double-dealing suggests treachery or at least action contrary to a professed attitude.

a go-between suspected of double-dealing

subterfuge suggests the adoption of a stratagem or the telling of a lie in order to escape guilt or to gain an end.

obtained the papers by subterfuge

trickery implies ingenious acts intended to dupe or cheat.

resorted to trickery to gain their ends

Examples of trickery in a Sentence

He resorted to trickery to get what he wanted.

Delia resorted to trickery—even loading up the fishing equipment—to induce her dog into the car for his vet appointment.

Recent Examples on the Web

That trickery only works when the players understand the layers of the system on a detailed level. —Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 21 June 2025

This trickery is a cost-saving measure in that the orchid does not have to manufacture nectar or prodigious amounts of expensive pollen. —The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 June 2025

The trickery amounted to 36 missing watches valued at over $650,000, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said in a June 5 news release. —Mark Price, Miami Herald, 6 June 2025

But the cleverness of the hook, the trickery of the scammer still works. —Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1796, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

trickery

noun

trick·​ery ˈtrik-(ə-)rē 

plural trickeries

: the use of tricks to deceive or cheat