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 $500,000.
—Bill Pennington, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2024
And the latest corporate skulduggery requires Murderbot to access its creativity in a whole new way.
—Charlie Jane Anders, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023
See All Example Sentences for skulduggery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skulduggery
Noun
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Tacopina recently appeared on The Breakfast Club to break down key elements of the defense’s strategy in proving Rocky’s innocence, and the plaintiff’s, A$AP Relli, lies and deception.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
25 Feb. 2025
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Today the art world is reeling over not just her deception, but also the stain Ms. Schiff has left on the largely unregulated business of art advising.—
Sarah Maslin Nir,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
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There will be years of political infighting, courtroom battles, and financial chicanery.—
Jeff Goodell,
Rolling Stone,
13 Feb. 2025
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That access has been critical, because producers are now forced to cut away from replays faster to capture more of that line-of-scrimmage chicanery.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
5 Feb. 2025
Noun
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With a bit of guidance, navigating between the classic go-to’s and the newer dining options are scattered throughout the properties can lead to incredible culinary discoveries, plenty of popping champagne bottles and even a dash of historical subterfuge.—
Alissa Fitzgerald,
Forbes,
22 Feb. 2025
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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
Noun
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That would have been a stupid question just about anywhere else, but the exhibition was by Laura Owens, a painter with a penchant for trickery, and the venue was Matthew Marks Gallery in New York, whose press release for Owens’s latest outing offered little in the way of explanation.—
Alex Greenberger,
ARTnews.com,
24 Feb. 2025
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Astounding transformations, in which one character takes on the appearance of another, will leave you wondering how the trickery was pulled off.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Lukashenko's support for the war in Ukraine has led to the rupture of Belarus' ties with the U.S. and the EU, ending his gamesmanship of using the West to try to win more subsidies from the Kremlin.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Jan. 2025
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Or, Newsom could walk away more vulnerable to criticism that his political gamesmanship and thirst for the national spotlight compromised his ability to deliver for Californians.—
Taryn Luna,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Whatever Van Nistelrooy has seen in training that has left him using the young Argentine so sparingly must be serious because the Brighton loanee is a player with guile and graft.—
Rob Tanner,
The Athletic,
21 Feb. 2025
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His characteristics are based on short, neat passes, providing guile to unpick deep-sitting blocks and work in tight areas.—
Jacob Tanswell,
The Athletic,
7 Feb. 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
Cite this Entry
“Skulduggery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skulduggery. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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