SUBTERFUGE: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for SUBTERFUGE?

Need another word that means the same as “subterfuge”? Find 41 synonyms and 30 related words for “subterfuge” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Subterfuge” are: blind, trickery, intrigue, deviousness, evasion, deceit, deception, dishonesty, cheating, duplicity, guile, cunning, craft, craftiness, slyness, chicanery, bluff, pretence, fraud, fraudulence, sophistry, sharp practice, trick, hoax, ruse, wile, ploy, stratagem, artifice, dodge, manoeuvre, machination, pretext, expedient, tactic, scheme, masquerade, smokescreen, sleight, stunt, game

Subterfuge as a Noun

Definitions of "Subterfuge" as a noun

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “subterfuge” as a noun can have the following definitions:

• Deceit used in order to achieve one's goal.
• Something intended to misrepresent the true nature of an activity.

Synonyms of "Subterfuge" as a noun (41 Words)

artifice	Clever or cunning devices or expedients, especially as used to trick or deceive others. An industry dominated by artifice.
blind	A hiding place sometimes used by hunters (especially duck hunters. He waited impatiently in the blind.
bluff	The act of bluffing in poker deception by a false show of confidence in the strength of your cards. His game of bluff.
cheating	A deception for profit to yourself.
chicanery	The use of deception or subterfuge to achieve one’s purpose. Storylines packed with political chicanery.
craft	An aircraft or spaceship. He represented the craft of brewers.
craftiness	The quality of being crafty.
cunning	Skill in achieving one’s ends by deceit. What resources of energy and cunning it took just to survive.
deceit	The action or practice of deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the truth. Hypocrisy and deceit were anathema to her.
deception	A thing that deceives. Obtaining property by deception.
deviousness	The quality of being oblique and rambling indirectly.
dishonesty	Deceitfulness shown in someone’s character or behaviour. The dismissal of thirty civil servants for dishonesty and misconduct.
dodge	The dodging of a bell in change-ringing. The grant system s widespread use as a tax dodge.
duplicity	A fraudulent or duplicitous representation. The president was accused of duplicity in his dealings with Congress.
evasion	Nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do. His evasion of his clear duty was reprehensible.
expedient	A means to an end; not necessarily a principled or ethical one. The current policy is a political expedient.
fraud	Something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage. Mediums exposed as tricksters and frauds.
fraudulence	The quality of being fraudulent.
game	The game equipment needed in order to play a particular game. For actors memorizing lines is no game.
guile	The quality of being crafty. He used all his guile and guts to free himself from the muddle he was in.
hoax	Something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage. A hoax 999 call.
intrigue	The secret planning of something illicit or detrimental. The cabinet was a nest of intrigue.
machination	A plot or scheme.
manoeuvre	A move made to gain a tactical end. Shady financial manoeuvres.
masquerade	A costume worn as a disguise at a masquerade party. Dressing up role playing and masquerade.
ploy	A cunning plan or action designed to turn a situation to one’s own advantage. The eternal cross stitch I was set to do before I could indulge my own ploys.
pretence	A false or unsupportable quality. They have always avoided preciousness and pretence.
pretext	Something serving to conceal plans; a fictitious reason that is concocted in order to conceal the real reason. The rebels had the perfect pretext for making their move.
ruse	An action intended to deceive someone; a trick. Emma tried to think of a ruse to get Paul out of the house.
scheme	A particular ordered system or arrangement. The occupational sick pay scheme.
sharp practice	A long thin sewing needle with a sharp point.
sleight	The use of dexterity or cunning, especially so as to deceive. Except by sleight of logic the two positions cannot be harmonized.
slyness	Shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception.
smokescreen	An action intended to conceal or confuse or obscure. He tried to create a smokescreen by quibbling about the statistics.
sophistry	A fallacious argument. Trying to argue that I had benefited in any way from the disaster was pure sophistry.
stratagem	Skill in devising plans or schemes; cunning. A series of devious stratagems.
stunt	A creature (especially a whale) that has been prevented from attaining full growth.
tactic	An action or strategy carefully planned to achieve a specific end. These are possible tax saving tactics to discuss with your accountant.
trick	A prostitute’s customer. She thought Elaine was playing some trick on her.
trickery	The practice of deception. The dealer resorted to trickery.
wile	The use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them. The devious wiles of the politicians.

Usage Examples of "Subterfuge" as a noun

• He had to use subterfuge and bluff on many occasions.
• I hated all the subterfuges, I hated lying to you.
• He wasn't sick–it was just a subterfuge.

Associations of "Subterfuge" (30 Words)

baloney	Pretentious or silly talk or writing. I don t buy it it s all a load of baloney.
betray	Treacherously reveal (information. She drew a deep breath that betrayed her indignation.
cheat	An act of cheating a fraud or deception. She cheats on her husband.
cheating	Violating accepted standards or rules.
chicanery	The use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them. Storylines packed with political chicanery.
cozen	Trick or deceive. He cozened the money out of the old man.
deceit	The act of deceiving. Hypocrisy and deceit were anathema to her.
deceive	Deliberately cause (someone) to believe something that is not true, especially for personal gain. I didn t intend to deceive people into thinking it was French champagne.
deception	A misleading falsehood. Obtaining property by deception.
deceptive	Giving an appearance or impression different from the true one; misleading. Deliberately deceptive packaging.
defraud	Deprive of by deceit. He used a second identity to defraud the bank of thousands of pounds.
delude	Make (someone) believe something that is not true. Too many theorists have deluded the public.
dissimulation	Concealment of one’s thoughts, feelings, or character; pretence. His audience consisted of a dissimulation of birds.
feint	Make a deceptive or distracting movement, especially during a fight. You would would you said Bob feinting punches back at them.
fraud	A person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities. Mediums exposed as tricksters and frauds.
fraudulence	Something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage.
fraudulent	Intended to deceive. A fraudulent scheme to escape paying taxes.
hoodwink	Deceive or trick. Staff were hoodwinked into thinking the cucumber was a sawn off shotgun.
humbug	A hypocrite. Poor Dave is easily humbugged.
insider	An officer of a corporation or others who have access to private information about the corporation’s operations. Political insiders.
liar	A person who tells lies. The man was a notorious liar.
lie	The way direction or position in which something lies. The abbey lies in ruins today.
manipulation	The action of manipulating someone in a clever or unscrupulous way. There was no deliberate manipulation of visitors emotions.
perfidious	Tending to betray; especially having a treacherous character as attributed to the Carthaginians by the Romans. The perfidious Judas.
perfidy	An act of deliberate betrayal. Hapsburg perfidy.
phony	A person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives.
scam	Deprive of by deceit. An insurance scam.
swindle	Use deception to deprive (someone) of money or possessions. He is mixed up in a 10 million insurance swindle.
treacherous	Tending to betray especially having a treacherous character as attributed to the Carthaginians by the Romans. A treacherous Gestapo agent.
trickery	Verbal misrepresentation intended to take advantage of you in some way. The dealer resorted to trickery.