variants
or skullduggery
as in deception
the use of clever underhanded actions to achieve an end
the company's apparently healthy bottom line was merely an illusion, the result of years of accounting skulduggery
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of skulduggery
But this week social media posts began to surface alleging the firm was engaged in skullduggery.
—
Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 26 Feb. 2026
The outcome of the family’s skulduggery, revealed over the end credits, should be a lip-smacking wicked delight.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
There was much more to it than that, including some skullduggery along the way.
—Kansas City Star, 22 Dec. 2025
The music industry is a notoriously cutthroat business, rife with tales of backstabbing and skullduggery.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 16 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skulduggery
Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 26 Feb. 2026
The outcome of the family’s skulduggery, revealed over the end credits, should be a lip-smacking wicked delight.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
There was much more to it than that, including some skullduggery along the way.
—Kansas City Star, 22 Dec. 2025
The music industry is a notoriously cutthroat business, rife with tales of backstabbing and skullduggery.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 16 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skulduggery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skulduggery
Noun
-
At the same time, the CIA mounted a deception operation to mislead Iranians who also were trying to find him.—
Jonathan J. Cooper,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Apr. 2026
-
As an investigation unfolds, one small lie grows into a web of deception that begins to affect her work, her family, and her sense of self.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Undocumented immigrants venture from Mexico, often underestimating of the treachery of the landscape.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Jonathan Cute kept probing the murky realms between tourism and treachery.—
Adam Ciralsky,
Vanity Fair,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That said, there are plenty of reasons — none involving any kind of partisan chicanery — that explain why California elections seems to drag on and vote totals shift as ballots are steadily counted.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
That said, there are plenty of reasons — none involving any kind of partisan chicanery — that explain why California elections seems to drag on and vote totals shift as ballots are steadily counted.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The trio went to great lengths to perpetrate the subterfuge, the indictment claims, including using hair dryers to remove packaging labels that were then reaffixed to thousands of fake replica servers.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
7 Apr. 2026
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Early Jewish interpreters also struggled with the fact that Rebekah’s favoritism toward Jacob and her insistence upon his subterfuge nevertheless align with God’s plan.—
Charles Preston,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Ultimately, however, Stark writes, the Indians used trickery and their knowledge of how to live in a hostile environment to stop the Spanish force.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
28 Mar. 2026
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The lawsuit also alleged that in that operation, border officials used trickery to get people to leave the country.—
Julia Ainsley,
NBC news,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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In some possible gamesmanship, South Carolina will start junior right-hander Nealy Lamb.—
Thomas Jones,
Austin American Statesman,
6 Mar. 2026
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Speaking of which… How might the gerrymandering gamesmanship between the parties play out in the fall?—
Ian Crouch,
New Yorker,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The commercial space race is defined by secrecy and competition, not collaboration.—
David W. Brown,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
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China's use of executions — carried out by firing squads or lethal injections — is shrouded in secrecy but has long been extensive.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skulduggery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skulduggery. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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