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

Relevance

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
  • Nefarious actors have long been keen to fill the gap through what international law describes as coercion, deception and abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability.
    — Robert P. George, Washington Post, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The suspect, identified as 58-year-old Zishan Zeng, was charged with two counts of elder exploitation and two counts of theft by deception.
    — Dan Raby, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of deception
Noun
  • 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
  • This subterfuge makes sense, since what these people reveal implicates their superiors.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of subterfuge
Noun
  • International skullduggery in this case concerned the retrieving of two nuclear warheads from a treacherous Caribbean dictatorship.
    — Ed Olmstead, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of skulduggery
Noun
  • This is accomplished with the aid of a dead vagrant, a false identity, a commandeered submarine, and tons of other chicanery.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Some felt that Ballmer was too smart to be involved in this sort of chicanery.
    — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of chicanery
Noun
  • Perhaps that’s why the studio’s new reliance upon computer trickery — courtesy of a collaboration with Wētā FX — feels more like more of a symptom of Prue’s crisis than part of the solution to it.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Thursday is The New York Times’s favorite day of the week to publish crosswords with twists, surprises or extra layers of trickery to puzzle over.
    — Sean McGowan, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of trickery
Noun
  • 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
  • The killings of Murdaugh’s wife and son and his subsequent six-week trial captivated the true crime world with a mix of treachery, corruption, money, power and Southern accents.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of treachery
Noun
  • Whatever higher purpose goes along with espionage work tends to be lost in the gamesmanship and cynicism that seems to come with the territory.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The focus on metrics also highlights the challenges of measuring the performance of large language models using standardized benchmark tests and concerns that the specs are prone to manipulation and gamesmanship.
    — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 5 Sep. 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
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hanky-panky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hanky-panky. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of jilt

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All