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
  • Irey is now facing several charges, including obstruction of justice, theft by deception, forgery and others.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 9 Nov. 2026
  • Even so, a person calling about an arrest or a custody dispute is just as likely to be anxious, and a voice that sounds human but is not can feel like deception, whatever the law requires.
    — Hamid Kohan, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of deception
Noun
  • Galloping advances in technology invite subterfuge and theft.
    — Sam Mullins, Foreign Affairs, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The series unpacks the subterfuge and secrecy required to record the interviews and how Diana and Colthurst were on high alert while making the recordings, Barefield explained.
    — Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of subterfuge
Noun
  • On Saturday’s opening night in Westport the audience seemed to react particularly strongly to the characters’ more realistic relationship struggles and weren’t as responsive to the military skullduggery.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 28 Oct. 2026
  • International skullduggery in this case concerned the retrieving of two nuclear warheads from a treacherous Caribbean dictatorship.
    — Ed Olmstead, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of skulduggery
Noun
  • Besides, with everyone on high alert for AI staging these days, would-be buyers sometimes see agents’ presence as evidence of ChatGPT chicanery.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Most importantly, no more need for gas nor the treasonous chicanery plotted by the president and an enemy.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of chicanery
Noun
  • 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
Definition of trickery
Noun
  • The Circus is a place of diligent work and office rivalries as well as risk and treachery.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The killings and his six-week trial in 2023 captivated the true crime world with a mix of treachery, corruption, money, power and Southern accents.
    — Jeffrey Collins, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of treachery
Noun
  • Voters deserve more than political gamesmanship and low cunning.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026
  • But the hamstring injury to the star outside linebacker is severe enough that Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales didn’t entertain such gamesmanship.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 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 11 Nov. 2026.

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