trickery

noun

trick·​ery ˈtri-k(ə-)rē 

: the practice of crafty underhanded ingenuity to deceive or cheat

Synonyms of trickery

• deception
• subterfuge
• treachery
• deceptiveness
• chicanery
• jugglery
• gamesmanship
• cunning
• skulduggery
• legerdemain
• artfulness

Choose the Right Synonym for trickery

deception, fraud, double-dealing, subterfuge, trickery mean the acts or practices of one who deliberately deceives.

deception may or may not imply blameworthiness, since it may suggest cheating or merely tactical resource.

magicians are masters of deception

fraud always implies guilt and often criminality in act or practice.

indicted for fraud

double-dealing suggests treachery or at least action contrary to a professed attitude.

a go-between suspected of double-dealing

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

trickery implies ingenious acts intended to dupe or cheat.

resorted to trickery to gain their ends

Examples of trickery in a Sentence

He resorted to trickery to get what he wanted.

Delia resorted to trickery—even loading up the fishing equipment—to induce her dog into the car for his vet appointment.

Recent Examples on the Web

At the end of the game, the stronger, faster, more skilled team is bound to overwhelm any and all elements or trickery. — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 29 Oct. 2026

Rarely does a pop album so deftly lay bare the trickery of pop albums, while remaining a compelling pop album in its own right. — Samuel Hyland, Pitchfork, 28 Oct. 2026

Narratively, the momentum crests at the protest, abetted by Maksimović’s most dynamic cinematic trickery — which extends to a shot from the perspective of the errant, offending stone. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 27 Oct. 2026

Perhaps that’s why the studio’s new reliance upon computer trickery — courtesy of a collaboration with Wētā FX — feels more like more of a symptom of Prue’s crisis than part of the solution to it. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 11 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1796, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

trickery

noun

trick·​ery ˈtrik-(ə-)rē 

plural trickeries

: the use of tricks to deceive or cheat