as in ruses
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
tried various stratagems to get the cat into the carrier, but the feisty feline was wise to them all
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stratagems
Noun
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The New York Colored American reported that some offers of short-term work for Black men — moving livestock to or from Kentucky, for example — were ruses that ended with kidnappings.—
Equal Justice Initiative,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025 -
Many suspect a spam call and don't pick up the phone, leading foundation staff to sometimes devise ruses.—
Kelly Meyerhofer,
jsonline.com,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Officials say the scammers' schemes range from the savvy to the sloppy -- and all are brazen.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Jan. 2026
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In Minnesota, investigators and journalists have raised serious questions about fraud schemes tied to networks that disproportionately benefited non-citizens, while the families actually paying into the system were left footing the bill.—
Jennifer Nassour,
Boston Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Federal investigators in Guam believed the devices held evidence that would help prove individuals handling the island’s Covid unemployment assistance program were part of a plot to steal funds.—
Thomas Brewster,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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With an undeletable presence embedded in the firmware of more than 600 million enterprise devices, Absolute delivers persistent visibility, control, and auto-repair capabilities that operate even when systems fail.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Our focus on our own ingroup makes our brains play tricks on us.—
Dev Patnaik,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Just another one of his show-stopping tricks.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Stratagems.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stratagems. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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