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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of subterfuge
In the end, the subterfuge with Priester served merely as a subplot.
—
Andy McCullough, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
The act of subterfuge was particularly common in the 2000s, amidst America’s unpopular foreign policy and the country’s invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.
—Vivian Song, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
On the other side of this triangle, Conrad has his own Belly-management system, which relies heavily on subterfuge and mostly comes down to attempts to feed her.
—Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2025
The recent Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian warplanes marked a striking advance in the arms race: a combination of human subterfuge and precise tech work.
—Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for subterfuge
Andy McCullough, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
The act of subterfuge was particularly common in the 2000s, amidst America’s unpopular foreign policy and the country’s invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.
—Vivian Song, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
On the other side of this triangle, Conrad has his own Belly-management system, which relies heavily on subterfuge and mostly comes down to attempts to feed her.
—Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2025
The recent Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian warplanes marked a striking advance in the arms race: a combination of human subterfuge and precise tech work.
—Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for subterfuge
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subterfuge
Noun
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Don’t get too comfortable because the toxicity, lies and deception are about to return.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Nov. 2025
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The 5-foot-11, 154-pound Imai throws a mix of six pitches, but is more than simply a deception specialist.—
Jon Vankin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Tarabay leads the cast as the titular Ashur, now thriving after his treachery.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Nov. 2025
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And when the surviving crew interrogates the android Ash about his treachery, the book has him pretty much spill the space beans.—
Daniel Dockery,
Vulture,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Watching the song’s polarizing music video, which uses digital trickery to reunite the surviving Beatles with their late mates, projected behind McCartney and his band on a massive screen is trippy, and hard for the brain to comprehend.—
Joseph Hudak,
Rolling Stone,
7 Nov. 2025
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But there’s no trickery in those matches — the big ones are pay-per-view promoted events.—
Jeremy Herb,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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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
Noun
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The tale away from the playing field in recent years has been dizzying, one of soaring costs and debts, of quirks and chicanery unseen elsewhere.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
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Another recurring feature of the biggest asset booms is outright chicanery, such as fraudulent accounting, the marketing of worthless securities, and plain old stealing.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
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On the pitch — and across the breadth of the league — matches have been defined by long throws, set pieces and gamesmanship.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
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Advertisement Republicans, especially outside the MAGAverse, have found mixed views of this gamesmanship.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The other one is the idea of political skullduggery going on in the background.—
Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Oct. 2025
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And though O’Neil, who has been inside, says the building itself is in no shape for skullduggery, that doesn’t mean said skullduggery isn’t happening elsewhere.—
A.K. Whitney,
Oc Register,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The outcome could set a precedent for how far courts can go in easing logistical burdens on defendants in sensitive-information cases without compromising government secrecy.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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Even in a strange story like this, some of the classic Cheney traits, such as secrecy, were on display.—
Don Gonyea,
NPR,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Subterfuge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subterfuge. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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