Synonyms of gambit

gambit

noun

ˈgam-bət 

as in ruse

a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end

The seemingly benign questioning was all just a gambit to get them to fess up to their wrongdoing.

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ruse
• scheme
• trick
• device
• stratagem
• ploy
• jig
• dodge
• sleight of hand
• fetch
• bluff
• knack
• gimmick
• flimflam
• sleight
• wile
• play
• deception
• artifice
• cunning
• feint
• subterfuge
• juggle
• shenanigan
• trickery
• chicanery
• duplicity
• hoax
• swindle
• skulduggery
• end run
• swindling
• legerdemain
• jugglery
• cheating
• fakery
• fraud
• sham
• gaff
• crookery
• blind
• smoke screen
• craft
• cozenage
• front
• dupery

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of gambit

Still, only one person became a celluloid legend from Universal’s gambit — and that person wasn’t Carlos Villarias, who outlived Lugosi by two decades yet never achieved anything like the same renown. — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 31 July 2026

Infantino’s high-stakes financial gambit now could threaten his previously secure 11-year presidency of FIFA as anger and frustration with him rises among soccer stakeholders including three of the six continental bodies. — Graham Dunbar, Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2026

The attorney general — appointed to his position last year by DeSantis after engineering some of the governor’s biggest political gambits while serving as his chief of staff — will be on the ballot this November for the first time. — Miami Herald, 30 July 2026

Some of Nolan’s aesthetic gambits are successful, including the diversity of its cast, his commitment to practical effects and on-location shooting, and the decision to have everyone sport an American accent. — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 27 July 2026

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