Synonyms of hanky-panky

hanky-panky

noun

ˌhaŋ-kē-ˈpaŋ-kē 

as in skullduggery

the use of clever underhanded actions to achieve an end

had to resort to a certain amount of hanky-panky to sneak away from the house without his dog seeing him

Synonyms & Similar Words

• skullduggery
• deception
• subterfuge
• skulduggery
• chicanery
• treachery
• trickery
• deceptiveness
• gamesmanship
• secrecy
• jugglery
• scheming
• cunning
• legerdemain
• deceit
• stealth
• artfulness
• jiggery-pokery
• chicane
• wile
• plotting
• deceitfulness
• double-dealing
• duplicity
• hypocrisy
• artifice
• underhandedness
• dishonesty
• slyness
• slipperiness
• sneakiness
• shrewdness
• deviousness
• crookedness
• slickness
• fakery
• shiftiness
• insincerity
• dupery
• humbuggery
• shadiness
• design
• quackery
• dissimulation
• cageyness
• oiliness
• craftiness
• guile
• dirty tricks
• caginess
• wiliness
• crookery
• imposture
• dirty pool
• sharpness
• foxiness
• guilefulness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sincerity
• ingenuousness
• guilelessness
• artlessness
• forthrightness
• openness
• candor
• directness
• candidness
• plainness
• plainspokenness

Examples of hanky-panky in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On my ride with Boaz and Javadi, a Waymo operator suddenly joined us on the audio system, not to inform us that hanky-panky is prohibited, but to say that two passengers did not have their seat belts fastened. —Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2024

Any outlier hanky-panky effort by Republicans would be enjoined by the courts based upon solid precedent. —Jerry Goldfeder, New York Daily News, 24 July 2024

No hanky-panky, no name calling, no twisting of truths, no bull. —Patrick Wallis, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2024

Our inescapable conclusion is that the target of this pitch is being snowed by an acquaintance hoping to climb out of the friend zone for a bout of hanky-panky before moving on. —Tom Zoellner, SPIN, 21 Feb. 2024