variants
or skullduggery
as in deception
the use of clever underhanded actions to achieve an end
the company's apparently healthy bottom line was merely an illusion, the result of years of accounting skulduggery
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of skulduggery
Schiff’s skulduggery was unfortunate but totally rational under the current system.
—
David Daley, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024
This one went smoothly — no claims of rampant rigging, no significant taint of skulduggery — due in large part to the defeat of deepfakes, democracy’s newest enemy.
—Michael Rogers, Twin Cities, 14 Jan. 2024
In a separate incident of apparent skulduggery in 2007, Belichick was fined a league maximum of $500,000.
—Bill Pennington, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2024
And the latest corporate skulduggery requires Murderbot to access its creativity in a whole new way.
—Charlie Jane Anders, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023
See all Example Sentences for skulduggery 
David Daley, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024
This one went smoothly — no claims of rampant rigging, no significant taint of skulduggery — due in large part to the defeat of deepfakes, democracy’s newest enemy.
—Michael Rogers, Twin Cities, 14 Jan. 2024
In a separate incident of apparent skulduggery in 2007, Belichick was fined a league maximum of $500,000.
—Bill Pennington, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2024
And the latest corporate skulduggery requires Murderbot to access its creativity in a whole new way.
—Charlie Jane Anders, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023
See all Example Sentences for skulduggery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skulduggery
Noun
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The series was loosely inspired by the non-fiction book The Woman Who Fooled the World, written by Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano, the two journalists who uncovered the details of Gibson’s deception.—
Abid Rahman,
The Hollywood Reporter,
1 Feb. 2025
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Some users saw deception as the biggest issue, while others questioned whether the wife's stance was fair, given the monetary opportunity.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
30 Jan. 2025
Noun
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There’s still a lot of baseball chicanery to take place over the next few months, though.—
Grant Brisbee,
The Athletic,
18 July 2024
-
The eternal fight for liberty — slaves into gladiators, gladiators into free men — calls for courage and purpose beyond Lucius’s nightmarish expectations, uncovering the treachery and chicanery of Roman politics.—
Armond White,
National Review,
6 Dec. 2024
Noun
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This sequence introduces The Agency as a maze of contradictory nationalist motivations, paranoia-inducing surveillance, and prevalent subterfuge — and, in its hidden center, a love story.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2025
-
Using a figurehead Then again, Trump might just want to avoid all of these legal subterfuges by following the example of George and Lurleen Wallace.—
Philip Klinkner,
The Conversation,
16 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Garcia is quick and adept at carrying the ball into dangerous areas, with his trickery opening space for others to exploit.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
The Athletic,
21 Jan. 2025
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In the human realm, at least, equating cuckoldry solely with trickery and the cuckolded as weak and foolish is inaccurate.—
Brooke Scelza,
Scientific American,
19 Sep. 2024
Noun
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The lack of a definitive pronouncement of a starter ahead of the game was likely a move of gamesmanship to keep Atlanta preparing for two quarterbacks.—
Vic Tafur,
The Athletic,
16 Dec. 2024
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The play might have worked; but an evidentiary hearing, like a showdown in a game of poker, is where gamesmanship collides with the facts and at its conclusion, all the bluffs are called and the cards lie face up.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The former Watford midfielder brings energy to the press but lacks guile, and with his contract up at the end of the season, the 32-year-old looks like a stop-gap.—
Patrick Boyland,
The Athletic,
22 Jan. 2025
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Next for Fonseca is Lorenzo Sonego, a 29-year-old Italian who will have to hope that wisdom and guile win out over the exuberance of youth.—
Matthew Futterman,
The Athletic,
15 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Congressional legerdemain can’t wave away that reality.—
Howard Gleckman,
Forbes,
4 Dec. 2024
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Both activities depended on legerdemain and made elaborate use of optical illusions.—
Jonathon Keats,
Forbes,
23 Sep. 2024
Articles Related to skulduggery
Thesaurus Entries Near skulduggery
Cite this Entry
“Skulduggery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skulduggery. Accessed 7 Feb. 2025.
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