skulduggery

skul·dug·gery

noun \ˌskəl-ˈdə-g(ə-)rē, ˈskəl-ˌ\

plural skul·dug·ger·ies

Definition of SKULDUGGERY

: underhanded or unscrupulous behavior; also : a devious device or trick

Variants of SKULDUGGERY

skul·dug·gery or skull·dug·gery \ˌskəl-ˈdə-g(ə-)rē, ˈskəl-ˌ\

Examples of SKULDUGGERY

1. tales of espionage and skulduggery
2. <the company's apparently healthy bottom line was merely an illusion, the result of years of accounting skulduggery>

Origin of SKULDUGGERY

origin unknown

First Known Use: 1867

Related to SKULDUGGERY

Synonyms: artifice, chicane, chicanery, gamesmanship, hanky-panky, jiggery-pokery, jugglery, legerdemain, trickery (or skullduggery), subterfuge, wile

Related Words: artfulness, caginess (also cageyness), craftiness, cunning, deviousness, foxiness, oiliness, shadiness, sharpness, shiftiness, shrewdness, slickness, slipperiness, slyness, sneakiness, treachery, underhandedness, wiliness; crookedness, crookery, cunning, deceit, deceitfulness, deception, deceptiveness, dishonesty, dissimulation, double-dealing, dupery, duplicity, guile, guilefulness, hypocrisy, insincerity; fakery, humbuggery, imposture, quackery; dirty pool, dirty tricks; design, plotting, scheming, secrecy, stealth

Near Antonyms: artlessness, forthrightness, guilelessness, ingenuousness, sincerity; candidness, candor, directness, openness, plainness, plainspokenness

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