hanky-panky

noun

ˌhaŋ-kē-ˈpaŋ-kē How to pronounce hanky-panky (audio)
Definition of hanky-pankynext
as in deception
the use of clever underhanded actions to achieve an end had to resort to a certain amount of hanky-panky to sneak away from the house without his dog seeing him

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hanky-panky The screening usually focusses on clandestine hanky-panky, but this season the girls’ irreverence was so abundant that the producers treated them to an unprecedented second viewing night. — Lillian Fishman, New Yorker, 27 June 2026 So just to be critical or even open to suspicion of hanky-panky or shenanigans around vaccination is immediately shut down by The New York Times or anybody. — David Zane Mairowitz, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2025 And Floria most certainly doesn’t indulge in any of the hanky-panky in elevators and storerooms of the kind that the randy staffers in Grey’s Anatomy wallow in. — Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 2 Aug. 2025 But there was no hanky-panky, and in fact the two couples had dinner together every week for two years after Dirty Dancing wrapped. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024 On my ride with Boaz and Javadi, a Waymo operator suddenly joined us on the audio system, not to inform us that hanky-panky is prohibited, but to say that two passengers did not have their seat belts fastened. — Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2024 Any outlier hanky-panky effort by Republicans would be enjoined by the courts based upon solid precedent. — Jerry Goldfeder, New York Daily News, 24 July 2024 No hanky-panky, no name calling, no twisting of truths, no bull. — Patrick Wallis, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2024 Our inescapable conclusion is that the target of this pitch is being snowed by an acquaintance hoping to climb out of the friend zone for a bout of hanky-panky before moving on. — Tom Zoellner, SPIN, 21 Feb. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hanky-panky
  1. deception
  2. subterfuge
  3. skulduggery
  4. chicanery
  5. trickery
  6. treachery
  7. gamesmanship
  8. deceptiveness
Noun
  • Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, has highlighted a shift in tactics in museum thefts, from deception and stealth to more aggressive and violent methods.
    — Jack Guy, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Although Silo 1 discovered her deception, the rebels clamped the pipe in the knick of time.
    — Kelly Allen, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of deception
Noun
  • The cover art sets it up perfectly, a dreamlike subterfuge that transforms the Villarreals into mythological Greek heroines.
    — Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The subterfuge involved him stowing away in an airport catering container to sneak onto the jet.
    — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of subterfuge
Noun
  • There are no federal protections against this skullduggery, and only 10 states have enacted dedicated statutes to combat the problem, according to Equity Protect.
    — Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Few would begrudge Paraguay this recognition, but the skullduggery did produce eye-rolls and requires stronger officiating.
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of skulduggery
Noun
  • 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
Definition of chicanery
Noun
  • Between the huge practical sets and stunts, the matte paintings and in-camera trickery, the on-location filming, and a leading man at the height of his movie star powers, Spielberg and his team performed the filmmaking equivalent of wizardry.
    — Frank DeRuggiero, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Football is all about engaño (trickery) — looking one way and passing the other, feinting to go left and swiftly moving right, manipulating the opposition and tricking them to open up those little spaces.
    — Xavi, New York Times, 19 July 2026
Definition of trickery
Noun
  • Was there a whiff of treachery among this crew, someone who might betray them to the Germans?
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 31 Aug. 2026
  • For his treachery in conspiring with Gwayne, Daemon claims Corlys as his own prisoner.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of treachery
Noun
  • In some ways, that depends on whether the agent eventually learns guile, and social gamesmanship, or not.
    — John Werner, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • Some of that gamesmanship occurred when former Orange County Superior Court Judge Israel Claustro tried to profit from the SIBTF program by forming a company to write and submit medical reports for applicants.
    — Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 16 July 2026
Definition of gamesmanship
Noun
  • Of course, the retort is that this would be irritating and exasperating to be continually deluged with alerts about AI deceptiveness.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
  • Beyond the deceptiveness of the narrow material view, spiritual light and hope are always present to be found and felt.
    — Sue Brightman, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Jan. 2025
Definition of deceptiveness

Browse Nearby Words

hanks
hanky-panky
hansom
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Cite this Entry

“Hanky-panky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hanky-panky. Accessed 9 Sep. 2026.

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