SUBTERFUGE Synonyms: 68 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the noun 'subterfuge' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of subterfuge are deception , double-dealing , fraud , and trickery . While all these words mean "the acts or practices of one who deliberately deceives," subterfuge suggests the adoption of a stratagem or the telling of a lie in order to escape guilt or to gain an end. // obtained the papers by subterfuge

Q: When could 'deception' be used to replace 'subterfuge'?

Although the words deception and subterfuge have much in common, deception may or may not imply blameworthiness, since it may suggest cheating or merely tactical resource. // magicians are masters of deception

Q: Where would 'double-dealing' be a reasonable alternative to 'subterfuge'?

The words double-dealing and subterfuge are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, double-dealing suggests treachery or at least action contrary to a professed attitude. // a go-between suspected of double-dealing

Q: When can 'fraud' be used instead of 'subterfuge'?

In some situations, the words fraud and subterfuge are roughly equivalent. However, fraud always implies guilt and often criminality in act or practice. // indicted for fraud

Q: When is 'trickery' a more appropriate choice than 'subterfuge'?

The words trickery and subterfuge can be used in similar contexts, but trickery implies ingenious acts intended to dupe or cheat. // resorted to trickery to gain their ends

subterfuge

noun

ˈsəb-tər-ˌfyüj

Definition of subterfuge next

as in deception

the use of clever underhanded actions to achieve an end propagandists who use a kind of photographic subterfuge, superimposing one image on another to create a false "reality"

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How does the noun subterfuge differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of subterfuge are deception, double-dealing, fraud, and trickery. While all these words mean "the acts or practices of one who deliberately deceives," subterfuge suggests the adoption of a stratagem or the telling of a lie in order to escape guilt or to gain an end.

obtained the papers by subterfuge

When could deception be used to replace subterfuge?

Although the words deception and subterfuge have much in common, deception may or may not imply blameworthiness, since it may suggest cheating or merely tactical resource.

magicians are masters of deception

Where would double-dealing be a reasonable alternative to subterfuge?

The words double-dealing and subterfuge are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, double-dealing suggests treachery or at least action contrary to a professed attitude.

a go-between suspected of double-dealing

When can fraud be used instead of subterfuge?

In some situations, the words fraud and subterfuge are roughly equivalent. However, fraud always implies guilt and often criminality in act or practice.

indicted for fraud

When is trickery a more appropriate choice than subterfuge?

The words trickery and subterfuge can be used in similar contexts, but trickery implies ingenious acts intended to dupe or cheat.

resorted to trickery to gain their ends

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 subterfuge 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 Including some subterfuge in this case. —

Kansas City Star, 24 Apr. 2026 In the Television Academy's Miami Vice oral history, Johnson revealed the show’s cutting-edge content was made possible by simple subterfuge. —

Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Apr. 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for subterfuge

Recent Examples of Synonyms for subterfuge

Noun

So, that's a kind of deception.

— Dana Taylor, USA Today, 23 June 2026
The county argues the grand jury fundamentally misunderstood what happened before the explosion, saying its investigation relied on speculation instead of evidence and wrongly blamed county officials for a criminal enterprise prosecutors say was built on years of deception.

— Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 23 June 2026

Definition of deception

Noun

Now, though, summer in the south is so brutal that centuries of architectural trickery is being outmatched, and in the north, houses designed to retain heat during the winter have become furnaces in sweltering summers.

— Frank Andrews, CBS News, 25 June 2026
There's no shame, no trickery—just relief and a chance to rebuild your financial stability.

— Charles T. Almond III, Forbes.com, 23 June 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

There’s a tremendous amount of financial chicanery that goes on in 2026.

— Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 11 June 2026
Not many people, however, concluded that financial chicanery at executive level should be used as a stick with which to beat the players and coaches who had won those trophies over the years in question.

— Oliver Kay, New York Times, 21 May 2026

Definition of chicanery

Noun

Once there, a combination of Messi’s genius, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez’s larger-than-life performances, a well-balanced team, and — it must be said — some unsavoury moments of skullduggery by several players, helped Argentina battle their way to the final against defending champions France.

— Will Jeanes, New York Times, 20 June 2026
For this skullduggery-stopping potential, the city paid $67,548, which is in the rough ballpark as what your average cop probably makes annually.

— Frank Landymore, Futurism, 17 June 2026