Synonyms of chicanery

chicanery

noun

shi-ˈkān-rē 

as in deception

the use of clever underhanded actions to achieve an end

that candidate only won the election through chicanery

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of chicanery

Not many people, however, concluded that financial chicanery at executive level should be used as a stick with which to beat the players and coaches who had won those trophies over the years in question. — Oliver Kay, New York Times, 21 May 2026

There was some physicality – McAvoy absolutely buried Peyton Krebs off the hop – but little post-whistle chicanery. — Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 24 Apr. 2026

Just typical power-grabbing Idaho lawmaker chicanery, right? — Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 16 Apr. 2026

In light of the chicanery that happens in the episode, the phrase also suggests a bit of victim-blaming for the harvesting of personal data. — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 12 Apr. 2026

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