trickery

noun

trick·​ery ˈtri-k(ə-)rē 

: the practice of crafty underhanded ingenuity to deceive or cheat

Synonyms

• artifice
• chicane
• chicanery
• gamesmanship
• hanky-panky
• jiggery-pokery
• jugglery
• legerdemain
• skulduggery
• skullduggery
• subterfuge
• wile

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

By Scott Hocker, The Week US A little bit of freezer trickery and a lot of assembling are the elements of cunning summer cooking. —Scott Hocker, theweek, 24 June 2024

Wyle, however, picked up on a strategy so as to not end up on the receiving end of the trickery. —Stephanie Sengwe, Peoplemag, 24 June 2024

That trickery hasn’t been enough to overcome the roadblock that is Kansas City, however. —Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 12 Feb. 2024

Rihanna is also known to engage in this form of PR trickery. —Kyndall Cunningham, Vox, 4 June 2024

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