insidiousness

noun

as in underhandedness

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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 insidiousness Thankfully, Leviticus has a good grasp on how to leverage this conceit for scares and to score points about the insidiousness of mistaking hatred for salvation. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2026 Without ever using the words, this House of the Dragon season evokes all-too-real fears about police funding, abridgment of freedom of speech and the insidiousness of theocratic rule. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 15 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insidiousness
  1. hypocrisy
  2. slyness
  3. perfidy
  4. duplicity
  5. trickery
  6. deception
  7. slipperiness
  8. smoothness
Noun
  • The title references an Islamic hadith that is meant to shine a light on Ali’s character’s moral hypocrisies and the religious fanatics who surround him in the film.
    — John Ross, Vanity Fair, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Julien’s pursuit of greatness leads him down a path where love, pride and hypocrisy collide… with tragic consequences.
    — Ed Meza, Variety, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of hypocrisy
Noun
  • The harp is not an instrument of slyness, wryness, or the earth.
    — Emma Madden, Pitchfork, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Like the tricksters of myth, there’s depth to their slyness.
    — Big Think, Big Think, 5 Feb. 2026
Definition of slyness
Noun
  • Platner, indeed, has boiled down nearly all political problems to the perfidy of sinister oligarchs.
    — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026
  • If the landing had been faked, the Soviets would have figured it out and would have loved to reveal to the world America’s perfidy.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 May 2026
Definition of perfidy
Noun
  • There’s a method to that madness, and all the duplicity, false assumptions pay off just like in an Agatha Christie classic.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Such fraudulence bore only poisoned fruit, swelling overseas bank accounts for the Manchurian candidates who were seeding duplicity into the loam of their nation’s imagination.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of duplicity
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
  • 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
  • That factual slipperiness might matter less if the psychology connected more deeply.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The categorical slipperiness of concrete finds its echo in the unbounded experience of the building from within.
    — Katy Barkan, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of slipperiness
Noun
  • That harmony makes all the difference—Cygnet 22 delivers a martini with remarkable smoothness, depth, and elegance that is difficult to match.
    — Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 2 Sep. 2026
  • On the other, its smoothness and seamlessness generate an aura of spiritual transcendence, something not unaffiliated with the Angeleno ethos.
    — Katy Barkan, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of smoothness

Browse Nearby Words

insidiously
insidiousness
insight
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Cite this Entry

“Insidiousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insidiousness. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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