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
-
Widespread deception was rampant, with businesses spending far more on green marketing than on actual sustainability improvements.—
Suvrat Dhanorkar,
The Conversation,
18 May 2026
-
That, along with the angle of his arm—his arm slot, in baseball terms—adds another layer of deception.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
Noun
-
Upon learning of Ava’s treachery, Deborah HOWLS.—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
1 May 2026
-
Inflamed by Ratansen’s adviser’s account of Padmavati’s beauty, Alauddin Khalji storms the fortress by treachery rather than valor.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
There was some physicality – McAvoy absolutely buried Peyton Krebs off the hop – but little post-whistle chicanery.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Just typical power-grabbing Idaho lawmaker chicanery, right?—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Skip the subterfuge as the sun and Mercury harmonize.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
-
Whether those suspicions were valid or a result of subterfuge by Connelly, the Nuggets ultimately traded up six spots to draft Holmes, sacrificing three future second-round picks.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But those movies, in different ways, were about trickery and deceit, about drawing the audience into a head game of perception.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
14 May 2026
-
That was about trickery in a tight situation.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2026
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
Noun
-
Is Bednar playing coy as a gamesmanship tactic?—
Peter Baugh,
New York Times,
10 May 2026
-
The difference is Jokic does not appear in any way interested in Antetokounmpo-like gamesmanship.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
2 May 2026
Noun
-
The ballot will be separated from the return envelope to preserve the secrecy of your ballot, and it then will be tallied.—
John Woolfolk,
Mercury News,
18 May 2026
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Quantum key cryptography allows two parties aiming to share sensitive data to establish a secure encryption key with secrecy ensured by the laws of physics, not the computational difficulty of a mathematical problem.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skulduggery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skulduggery. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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