Synonyms of subterfuge

subterfuge

noun

ˈsəb-tər-ˌfyüj 

as in deception

the use of clever underhanded actions to achieve an end

propagandists who use a kind of photographic subterfuge, superimposing one image on another to create a false "reality"

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deception
• treachery
• trickery
• skullduggery
• deceptiveness
• chicanery
• gamesmanship
• skulduggery
• secrecy
• cunning
• stealth
• artfulness
• deceit
• jugglery
• legerdemain
• scheming
• hanky-panky
• plotting
• chicane
• wile
• artifice
• jiggery-pokery
• deceitfulness
• duplicity
• underhandedness
• shrewdness
• sneakiness
• deviousness
• hypocrisy
• slyness
• dishonesty
• insincerity
• double-dealing
• dissimulation
• shiftiness
• slipperiness
• guile
• craftiness
• fakery
• design
• slickness
• crookedness
• wiliness
• quackery
• shadiness
• humbuggery
• imposture
• caginess
• oiliness
• crookery
• dupery
• cageyness
• sharpness
• dirty tricks
• dirty pool
• foxiness
• guilefulness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sincerity
• artlessness
• ingenuousness
• forthrightness
• guilelessness
• candor
• directness
• openness
• plainness
• candidness
• plainspokenness

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun subterfuge differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of subterfuge are deception, double-dealing, fraud, and trickery. While all these words mean "the acts or practices of one who deliberately deceives," 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

When could deception be used to replace subterfuge?

Although the words deception and subterfuge have much in common, deception may or may not imply blameworthiness, since it may suggest cheating or merely tactical resource.

magicians are masters of deception

Where would double-dealing be a reasonable alternative to subterfuge?

The words double-dealing and subterfuge are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, double-dealing suggests treachery or at least action contrary to a professed attitude.

a go-between suspected of double-dealing

When can fraud be used instead of subterfuge?

In some situations, the words fraud and subterfuge are roughly equivalent. However, fraud always implies guilt and often criminality in act or practice.

indicted for fraud

When is trickery a more appropriate choice than subterfuge?

The words trickery and subterfuge can be used in similar contexts, but trickery implies ingenious acts intended to dupe or cheat.

resorted to trickery to gain their ends

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of subterfuge

In an era rife with conspiracy theories and subterfuge, how much of those forces are products of our own doing, perhaps our imagining? —Dana Feldman, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024

The story that follows includes intense political subterfuge, villainous monologues, and heart-wrenching character deaths. —Courtney Mifsud Intreglia, TIME, 18 Sep. 2024

In the past, Yellowstone characters have pulled off relatively elaborate acts of subterfuge and scheming with multilayered plans that need lots of arguing and surprise twists and time — like, several episodes’ worth of time. —Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2024

This content, much of it clearly generated by AI rather than intended to deceive—a medium of crude self-expression, not sophisticated subterfuge—may have been the technology’s biggest impact on the 2024 presidential election. —Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 10 Dec. 2024

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