Synonyms of subterfuge

subterfuge

noun

ˈsəb-tər-ˌfyüj 

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"

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deception
• treachery
• trickery
• deceptiveness
• chicanery
• gamesmanship
• skulduggery
• secrecy
• cunning
• stealth
• artfulness
• deceit
• jugglery
• legerdemain
• scheming
• hanky-panky
• chicane
• wile
• plotting
• artifice
• jiggery-pokery
• deceitfulness
• duplicity
• underhandedness
• shrewdness
• sneakiness
• deviousness
• hypocrisy
• slyness
• dishonesty
• insincerity
• double-dealing
• dissimulation
• shiftiness
• slipperiness
• guile
• craftiness
• fakery
• slickness
• crookedness
• design
• wiliness
• quackery
• shadiness
• humbuggery
• imposture
• caginess
• oiliness
• crookery
• dupery
• sharpness
• dirty tricks
• dirty pool
• foxiness
• guilefulness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sincerity
• artlessness
• ingenuousness
• forthrightness
• guilelessness
• candor
• directness
• openness
• plainness
• candidness
• plainspokenness

Synonym Chooser

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

Recent Examples of subterfuge

Within weeks, her parents discovered her subterfuge and engaged Scotland Yard to bring her home. —Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025

Remon Haazen / Getty Images The prosecutor's statement didn't say what role, exactly, the man is thought to have played in the daylight heist, carried out with angle grinders, a freight lift and subterfuge, with robbers dressed as workers in bright vests. —CBS News, 28 Nov. 2025

Do not let the subterfuge concern you. —Judith Martin, Mercury News, 27 Nov. 2025

This week the New York Times posited that perhaps a dada-esque absurdity is the point, that youth culture, in an active quest to bewilder adults, adopts nonsensical humor in an effort towards subterfuge. —Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2025

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