skulduggery

noun

ˌskəl-ˈdə-g(ə-)rē How to pronounce skulduggery (audio)
variants or skullduggery
Definition of skulduggerynext
as in deception
the use of clever underhanded actions to achieve an end the company's apparently healthy bottom line was merely an illusion, the result of years of accounting skulduggery

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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 skulduggery Schiff’s skulduggery was unfortunate but totally rational under the current system. — David Daley, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024 This one went smoothly — no claims of rampant rigging, no significant taint of skulduggery — due in large part to the defeat of deepfakes, democracy’s newest enemy. — Michael Rogers, Twin Cities, 14 Jan. 2024 In a separate incident of apparent skulduggery in 2007, Belichick was fined a league maximum of $500,000. — Bill Pennington, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2024 And the latest corporate skulduggery requires Murderbot to access its creativity in a whole new way. — Charlie Jane Anders, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023 See All Example Sentences for skulduggery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skulduggery
  1. deception
  2. chicanery
  3. subterfuge
  4. trickery
  5. gamesmanship
  6. guile
  7. legerdemain
Noun
  • In the beginning, each player is secretly assigned as either a Faithful or a Traitor, setting the stage for an intense game of deception, strategy and survival.
    — Jordana Comiter, People.com, 7 Mar. 2025
  • After weeks of treachery and deception, the final roundtable has been viewed, and the winner or winners for The Traitors Season 3 have been revealed.
    — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 6 Mar. 2025
Definition of deception
Noun
  • Jane was a devout Protestant at a time of religious upheaval, the ultimate innocent victim of the chicanery of the Tudor court in the chaotic aftermath of Henry VIII’s reign.
    — Pan Pylas, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2025
  • The big picture: Opponents argue that moves like these give a green light for corporations to engage in all kinds of chicanery.
    — Emily Peck, Axios, 5 Mar. 2025
Definition of chicanery
Noun
  • With a bit of guidance, navigating between the classic go-to’s and the newer dining options are scattered throughout the properties can lead to incredible culinary discoveries, plenty of popping champagne bottles and even a dash of historical subterfuge.
    — Alissa Fitzgerald, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025
  • This sequence introduces The Agency as a maze of contradictory nationalist motivations, paranoia-inducing surveillance, and prevalent subterfuge — and, in its hidden center, a love story.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2025
Definition of subterfuge
Noun
  • Yet even as that’s happening, Patterson stages it all with an elliptical trickery that keeps the film knowingly off-balance.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 Mar. 2025
  • The Spark Neo lacks the directional surround-sound trickery of the Boss headphones, and comes with just four tone presets loaded into the system out of the box.
    — Paul Ridden, New Atlas, 10 Feb. 2025
Definition of trickery
Noun
  • The gamesmanship was high, with fan-favorites including Amanda Kimmel, James Clement, Courtney Yates and even former WWE wrestler Ashley Massaro.
    — Skyler Trepel, People.com, 25 Feb. 2025
  • The legislation died, not because of its content but because of political gamesmanship.
    — Joanie Schirm, Orlando Sentinel, 2 Feb. 2025
Definition of gamesmanship
Noun
  • That was true at the City Ground, with the Forest’s captain’s cunning and guile repeatedly threatening to unlock Arsenal’s stubborn defence.
    — James McNicholas, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Whatever Van Nistelrooy has seen in training that has left him using the young Argentine so sparingly must be serious because the Brighton loanee is a player with guile and graft.
    — Rob Tanner, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
Definition of guile
Noun
  • No matter how Congress formally scores the price of extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as well as other Trump initiatives, accounting legerdemain can’t make fiscal reality disappear.
    — Howard Gleckman, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025
  • Congressional legerdemain can’t wave away that reality.
    — Howard Gleckman, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
Definition of legerdemain

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Cite this Entry

“Skulduggery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skulduggery. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

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