Synonyms of double-dealing

double-dealing 1 of 2

adjective

1

as in fraudulent

marked by, based on, or done by the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value

double-dealing business practices that are being investigated by the state's attorney general

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fraudulent
• dishonest
• false
• deceptive
• deceitful
• crooked
• misleading
• duplicitous
• defrauding
• deceiving
• beguiling
• specious
• delusive
• fallacious
• delusory
• deluding
• spurious

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• honest
• truthful
• true
• legitimate
• aboveboard
• valid

2

as in double

not being or expressing what one appears to be or express

the double-dealing salesman never told me that the car had been in an accident and repaired

Synonyms & Similar Words

• double
• fake
• lip
• hypocritical
• strained
• superficial
• meaningless
• counterfeit
• pretended
• insincere
• feigned
• two-faced
• unctuous
• hollow
• mechanical
• artificial
• backhanded
• phony
• jive
• pious
• double-faced
• unnatural
• false
• dishonest
• assumed
• mealymouthed
• Janus-faced
• mealy
• phony-baloney
• affected
• deceitful
• contrived
• empty
• simulated
• Pecksniffian
• left-handed
• forced
• sham
• devious
• untruthful
• glib
• put-on
• claptrap
• facile
• sanctimonious
• jocular
• bogus
• pharisaical
• facetious
• tongue-in-cheek
• campy
• simon-pure
• canting
• self-righteous

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• genuine
• honest
• sincere
• artless
• unfeigned
• candid
• heartfelt
• plain
• direct
• forthright
• frank
• open
• undesigning
• straightforward
• heart-to-heart

3

as in deceptive

given to or marked by cheating and deception

the double-dealing team owners were pitting the two cities against one another, both of whom badly wanted the franchise

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fraudulent
• deceptive
• shady
• crooked
• dishonest
• duplicitous
• rogue
• underhanded
• shifty
• false
• underhand
• fast
• bent
• guileful
• artful
• unscrupulous
• treacherous
• sharp
• unprincipled
• cunning
• deceitful
• deceiving
• unethical
• unconscionable
• subtle
• wily
• crafty
• sly
• delusive
• perfidious
• beguiling
• slick
• cagey
• insidious
• slippery
• devious
• sneaky
• foxy
• furtive
• delusory
• tricky
• deluding
• defrauding
• sneaking
• trickish

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• honest
• straight
• ethical
• honorable
• conscientious
• scrupulous
• just
• decent
• upright
• aboveboard
• forthright
• straightforward

double-dealing

2 of 2

noun

ˌdə-bəl-ˈdē-liŋ 

as in deception

the inclination or practice of misleading others through lies or trickery

a go-between suspected of double-dealing

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deception
• deceit
• deceptiveness
• cheating
• cunning
• fraud
• deceitfulness
• duplicity
• lying
• dishonesty
• dissimulation
• fakery
• dissembling
• guile
• secrecy
• crookedness
• crookery
• cozenage
• craftiness
• cunningness
• wiliness
• dupery
• subterfuge
• prevarication
• artifice
• craft
• trickery
• chicanery
• fraudulence
• skulduggery
• mendacity
• swindling
• foxiness
• hypocrisy
• equivocation
• hanky-panky
• jugglery
• insincerity
• shrewdness
• guilefulness
• deviousness
• legerdemain
• artfulness
• obliquity
• underhandedness
• unscrupulousness
• sanctimoniousness
• fib
• wile
• sneakiness
• chicane
• caginess
• two-facedness
• untruth
• shadiness
• covertness
• slyness
• falsehood
• furtiveness
• mountebankery
• shiftiness
• slipperiness
• treacherousness
• slickness
• falsity
• smoothness
• stealthiness
• oiliness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sincerity
• good faith
• ingenuousness
• forthrightness
• artlessness
• frankness
• openness
• candor
• directness
• honesty
• guilelessness
• plainness
• probity
• reliability
• trustworthiness
• dependability
• goodness
• candidness
• solidity
• integrity
• righteousness
• truthfulness
• plainspokenness
• decency
• uprightness
• incorruptibility
• reliableness
• virtuousness
• trustability
• trustiness

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun double-dealing differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of double-dealing are deception, fraud, subterfuge, and trickery. While all these words mean "the acts or practices of one who deliberately deceives," double-dealing suggests treachery or at least action contrary to a professed attitude.

a go-between suspected of double-dealing

When might deception be a better fit than double-dealing?

The meanings of deception and double-dealing largely overlap; however, deception may or may not imply blameworthiness, since it may suggest cheating or merely tactical resource.

magicians are masters of deception

When is fraud a more appropriate choice than double-dealing?

While in some cases nearly identical to double-dealing, fraud always implies guilt and often criminality in act or practice.

indicted for fraud

When could subterfuge be used to replace double-dealing?

The synonyms subterfuge and double-dealing are sometimes interchangeable, but 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 would trickery be a good substitute for double-dealing?

In some situations, the words trickery and double-dealing are roughly equivalent. However, trickery implies ingenious acts intended to dupe or cheat.

resorted to trickery to gain their ends

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of double-dealing

Adjective

The notion of reputational damage is alien to someone whose image was long ago tarnished beyond repair by grifting, lying, bullying, and double-dealing. —Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026

Noun

But that rhetoric sounded hollow in the face of its dalliance with a drug-smuggling double-dealing despot like Noriega. —Time, 25 Nov. 2025

Making his Broadway debut, Burr is a cyclone as the fast-talking, double-dealing Dave Moss, who springs a plan to steal the leads on his unwilling accomplice, George Aaronow (McKean, drolly exasperated). —Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2025

Mullen's righthand man, Roger Carlson (Jesse Plemons), was double-dealing with billionaire Robert Lyndon (Clark Gregg), who ultimately ordered a hit on him in Episode 4. —Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2025

Through his double-dealing with the government, Carmine Falcone was Gotham’s top crime boss for over two decades, accruing massive wealth, political influence, and an elite status. —Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 21 Oct. 2024

Far from being some dastardly act of espionage and double-dealing, Cartwright made his fateful choice out of love. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024

While the Biden Administration seems to perceive Cambodia as an amenable partner, Manet is double-dealing Beijing and Washington. —Sam Rainsy, TIME, 24 June 2024