chicanery

noun

chi·​ca·​nery shi-ˈkā-nə-rē 

-ˈkān-, 

chi-

plural chicaneries

1

: deception by artful subterfuge or sophistry : trickery

He wasn't above using chicanery to win votes.

2

: a piece of sharp practice (as at law) : trick

resorted to political chicaneries

financial chicaneries

Did you know?

Chicanery Has Roots in French

We have hardly any words that do so fully expresse the French clinquant, naiveté … chicaneries. So lamented English writer John Evelyn in a letter to Sir Peter Wyche in 1665. Evelyn and Wyche were members of a group called the Royal Society, which had formed a committee emulating the French Academy for the purpose of "improving the English language." We can surmise that, in Evelyn's estimation, the addition of chicanery to English from French was an improvement. What he apparently didn't realize was that English speakers had adopted the word from the French chicanerie before he wished for it; the term appears in English manuscripts dating from 1609. Similarly, clinquant ("glittering with gold or tinsel") dates from 1591. Naïveté, on the other hand, waited until 1673 to appear.

Synonyms of chicanery

• deception
• treachery
• subterfuge
• skulduggery
• trickery
• deceptiveness
• gamesmanship
• jugglery
• artfulness
• secrecy
• legerdemain
• deceit

Examples of chicanery in a Sentence

He wasn't above using chicanery to win votes.

that candidate only won the election through chicanery

Recent Examples on the Web

Some felt that Ballmer was too smart to be involved in this sort of chicanery. — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2026

This chicanery is the reason that many secure email services simply don't display images by default. — Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 24 Aug. 2026

But both parties increasingly justify the chicanery, because the stakes of winning elections and keeping power are simply too high. — S.e. Cupp, New York Daily News, 8 July 2026

There’s a tremendous amount of financial chicanery that goes on in 2026. — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 11 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French chicanerie "quibbling on minor points of law brought up to complicate a judicial case," going back to Middle French chiquanerie, from chicaner "to dispute by means of quibbles," earlier "to sue, prosecute" + -erie -ery — more at chicane entry 1

Note: Randle Cotgrave's French-English dictionary (1611) defines chicanerie as "wrangling, pettifogging; litigious, or craftie pleading; the perplexing of a cause with trickes; or the pestering thereof with (subtile, but) impertinent words."

First Known Use

1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

chicanery

noun

chi·​ca·​nery shik-ˈān-(ə-)rē 

plural chicaneries

: clever trickery