INSIDIOUSNESS Synonyms: 71 Similar and Opposite Words

insidiousness

noun

as in underhandedness

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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

Noun

These charges of hypocrisy have only gotten louder as DSA candidates have won a string of Democratic primaries across the country.

— Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2026
The film follows an 11-year-old boy who exploits his brother’s tragic death to fight his father and his community, until his lies expose the hypocrisy and corruption beneath a seemingly moral society.

— Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of hypocrisy

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

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
This latest act of duplicity is a new low, even for the HFPA.

— Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 28 July 2026

Definition of duplicity

Noun

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
Marc Cucurella and Pedro Porro have stretched defenses from the flanks, while Lamine Yamal has confused them with his trickery.

— Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 18 July 2026

Definition of trickery

Noun

Prevention of fraud, deception and public accountability are reasons given for this suggestion.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026
As the investigation unfolded, what initially appeared to be a daring ransom scheme evolved into a complex story of obsession, deception, and unexpected motives.

— Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of deception

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insidiously

insidiousness

insight

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Style

“Insidiousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insidiousness. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of insidiousness

noun

Example Sentences

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