1
as in fraudulent
given to or marked by cheating and deception
willing to stoop to underhand methods in order to win
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in clandestine
undertaken or done so as to escape being observed or known by others
the congressman's underhand attempt to slip several pork barrel items into the bill
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in underhanded
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 underhand
Tim Reynolds, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2025
Brown popped to his feet after being tackled with a quick dance move and an underhand signal for a first down.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 6 Feb. 2025
Anthony Gharib, USA TODAY, 13 June 2023
Pitchers tossed underhand and no one wore gloves yet, resulting in smarting pain in the hands of catchers and first basemen.
—Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, 29 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for underhand
Adjective
There were some less-than-serious efforts the likes of which have been seen in past years — underhand lobs from half-court, for example, and a whole lot of interjection from on-court emcee Kevin Hart — but there was at least some defense played.
—Tim Reynolds, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2025
Brown popped to his feet after being tackled with a quick dance move and an underhand signal for a first down.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 6 Feb. 2025
Adverb
Each team will alternate tossing the bean bag underhand onto the board until all four bean bags are thrown.
—Anthony Gharib, USA TODAY, 13 June 2023
Pitchers tossed underhand and no one wore gloves yet, resulting in smarting pain in the hands of catchers and first basemen.
—Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, 29 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for underhand
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underhand
Adjective
-
In 2024, Nicolás Maduro won his reelection in a race contested as fraudulent by the opposition.—
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán,
NPR,
19 May 2025
-
Real examples: Six people were charged with attempting to steal $80 million through fraudulent checks tied to COVID-19 relief funds.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2025
Adjective
-
The Gestapo, Hitler’s secret police, combed the Poles’ ranks in search of men with experience in clandestine resistance organizations.—
Paul Hockenos,
Smithsonian Magazine,
8 May 2025
-
Alongside the harbour in Lerwick are five fishing boats, once part of the clandestine Anglo-Norwegian Shetland Bus mission, and the wartime cargo ship Hestmanden.—
Heather Farmbrough,
Forbes.com,
8 May 2025
Adjective
-
In the 1970s, information about the Tuskegee study – a deceptive and unethical 40-year study of untreated syphilis in Black men – came to light.—
Christine Coughlin,
The Conversation,
9 May 2025
-
Anyone wanting to fight such usage would have to rely on deceptive practice laws, trademark and copyright protection, and state-specific laws protecting a person's name, image, and likeness.—
Neil J. Rubenking,
PC Magazine,
2 May 2025
Adjective
-
That includes Tom Cruise, as covert CIA division agent Ethan Hunt, riding a motorcycle off a 4,000-foot cliff and BASE jumping the final 500 feet of a ravine, or the breathless climactic train mayhem in 2023’s Dead Reckoning, the opening installment of this two-parter.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2025
-
In an opinion piece published by the Venezuelan independent newspaper La Razón, former lawmaker Omar González Moreno recounted the covert mission that freed him and four others without a single shot being fired.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
12 May 2025
Adjective
-
Gates has three ecosystems on her quarter-acre: a sunny front yard, a shady back plot and a small wetland garden on one side.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
16 May 2025
-
The fear this instills in I-Jing — already ignored by her busy mother, nor attended to by her mercurial older sister, I-Ann, who holds a grudge against her mother and rebels by working at a shady betel nut stand — sets off a secrets-unearthing chain of events.—
Ritesh Mehta,
IndieWire,
14 May 2025
Adjective
-
In the new season’s third episode, Charlie helps Beatrix solve the murder of her husband Jeffrey (Richard Kind) by crooked FBI agent Danny (John Mulaney), and in return, Beatrix agrees to call off the hit.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
9 May 2025
-
But that jubilation quickly turns into a night of violence when Coop is beaten within an inch of his life by two guys hired by a crooked art gallery owner who put overly aggressive moves on his partner in crime Elena (Aimee Carrero).—
Rosemary Rossi,
Variety,
9 May 2025
Adjective
-
Samuel French, a Texas actor on the rise who portrayed the undercover FBI agent CJ Robinson in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, has died.—
Mike Barnes,
HollywoodReporter,
12 May 2025
-
Pisano has been with the show since his 2021 debut as undercover officer Detective Joe Velasco.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
8 May 2025
Adjective
-
There's also research showing that AI agents can easily be subversive, self-serving and dishonest in their actions.—
Lisa Loud,
Forbes.com,
12 May 2025
-
That’s a fact, so saying otherwise is dishonest and can lead to confusion.—
Harriette Cole,
Mercury News,
5 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Underhand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underhand. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share