: marked by secrecy, chicanery, and deception : not honest and aboveboard : sly
an underhanded attempt to gain power
underhandedly
adverb
underhandedness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of underhanded in a Sentence
Adjective
the commercial is a part of an underhanded PR campaign to whitewash the company's environmental record
an underhanded attempt at infiltrating the other party's headquarters
Recent Examples on the Web
Chris Welch, The Verge, 21 Mar. 2024
The Jenkins campaign suspected Johnson of resorting to more underhanded tactics: spreading false rumors that Jenkins was gay.
—David D. Kirkpatrick, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2024
Trump allies have gleefully deployed similarly underhanded tactics to suppress the Democratic vote in his two previous campaigns.
—Michael Gold, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024
Commentary and opinions George Skelton: Adam Schiff’s smart but underhanded strategy in the Senate race.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2024
The bullying tactics being used to sell this boondoggle are underhanded and meretricious.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2024
True incidents like the Volkswagen emissions scandal and the underhanded actions behind the growth of Wells Fargo are brought to life through interviews with both victims of these financial crimes and those who committed them.
—Melissa Sherrard, EW.com, 16 Sep. 2023
But despite this, another member claimed some form of underhanded action by Haley or the Democrats.
—David Gilbert, WIRED, 24 Jan. 2024
Theresa shared, apologizing for the comment — an underhanded reference to the 20 other women who vied for her fiancé’s heart on national television in the inaugural season of the Bachelor spinoff show.
—Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 5 Jan. 2024
Adjective
But the company has pushed into unfair territory and used underhanded tactics that give its own devices (like the Apple Watch) and services (Apple Pay) a distinct advantage over those of the competition, which cannot offer the same experience.
—Chris Welch, The Verge, 21 Mar. 2024
The Jenkins campaign suspected Johnson of resorting to more underhanded tactics: spreading false rumors that Jenkins was gay.
—David D. Kirkpatrick, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2024
Trump allies have gleefully deployed similarly underhanded tactics to suppress the Democratic vote in his two previous campaigns.
—Michael Gold, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024
Commentary and opinions George Skelton: Adam Schiff’s smart but underhanded strategy in the Senate race.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2024
The bullying tactics being used to sell this boondoggle are underhanded and meretricious.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2024
True incidents like the Volkswagen emissions scandal and the underhanded actions behind the growth of Wells Fargo are brought to life through interviews with both victims of these financial crimes and those who committed them.
—Melissa Sherrard, EW.com, 16 Sep. 2023
But despite this, another member claimed some form of underhanded action by Haley or the Democrats.
—David Gilbert, WIRED, 24 Jan. 2024
Theresa shared, apologizing for the comment — an underhanded reference to the 20 other women who vied for her fiancé’s heart on national television in the inaugural season of the Bachelor spinoff show.
—Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 5 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'underhanded.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near underhanded
Cite this Entry
“Underhanded.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underhanded. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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