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skulduggery

noun

ˌskəl-ˈdə-g(ə-)rē How to pronounce skulduggery (audio)
variants or skullduggery
Definition of skulduggerynext
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

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 skulduggery The selection was announced by SMS to Iranians, among whom Mojtaba Khamenei has long had a reputation for skullduggery and power plays. — Kay Armin Serjoie, Time, 9 Mar. 2026 The governor’s office offered no explanation for its skullduggery. — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 7 Mar. 2026 Soprano Nicole Car’s initially elegant Elizabeth accumulates both physical and vocal intensity as the opera exposes more and more skulduggery around her. — Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 28 Feb. 2026 But this week social media posts began to surface alleging the firm was engaged in skullduggery. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 26 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for skulduggery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skulduggery
  1. deception
  2. treachery
  3. chicanery
  4. subterfuge
  5. trickery
  6. deceptiveness
  7. gamesmanship
  8. secrecy
Noun
  • Leaders managing autonomous agent deployments across enterprise environments have spent years auditing outputs for compliance, deception vectors and guardrail breaches.
    — Terry Oroszi, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Those charges cover a wide range of behaviors related to schemes in which money or property is obtained through deception and interstate electronic communications.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of deception
Noun
  • Was there a whiff of treachery among this crew, someone who might betray them to the Germans?
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 31 Aug. 2026
  • For his treachery in conspiring with Gwayne, Daemon claims Corlys as his own prisoner.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of treachery
Noun
  • Some felt that Ballmer was too smart to be involved in this sort of chicanery.
    — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2026
  • This chicanery is the reason that many secure email services simply don't display images by default.
    — Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of chicanery
Noun
  • This subterfuge makes sense, since what these people reveal implicates their superiors.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The cover art sets it up perfectly, a dreamlike subterfuge that transforms the Villarreals into mythological Greek heroines.
    — Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of subterfuge
Noun
  • Course designer Leopoldo Palacios’s influential track featured a rollback to the water tray — a bit of trickery that Palacios had famously used at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and had shelved since.
    — Tilly Berendt, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Extremism, in both parties, is a tool of propagandists trying to win elections through trickery.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of trickery
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
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
  • That subjectivity and secrecy over how a winner is selected also builds suspense, particularly in the years that follow an era dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, where a deeper pool of candidates now swims.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Despite the secrecy, rumors of the project began to percolate at the festival over the weekend, and the line to see the film in the 650-seat Werner Herzog Theater started forming hours before showtime.
    — Rebecca Keegan, NBC news, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of secrecy

Browse Nearby Words

skoshes
skulduggery
skulk
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Cite this Entry

“Skulduggery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skulduggery. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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