subterfuge
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of subterfuge
1565–75; < Late Latin subterfugium, equivalent to Latin subterfug ( ere ) to evade ( subter below + fugere to flee) + -ium -ium
Explanation
If you want to surprise your mom with a sweatshirt, but don't know her size, it might take an act of subterfuge, like going through her closet, to find it out. Subterfuge is the use of tricky actions to hide or get something. It's pronounced "SUB-ter-fyooj." As a countable noun, a subterfuge is a tricky action or device: She employed a very clever subterfuge to get the information she needed. Subterfuge is derived from the Old French suterfuge, which is ultimately from the Latin subterfugere, "to escape," from subter, "secretly, under" plus fugere, "to flee."
Vocabulary lists containing subterfuge
The Great Gatsby
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A Web of Lies
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Richard Nixon's "Checkers" Speech (1952)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Subterfuge of this kind was to become unacceptable to academic psychologists after Milgram’s experiments, which provoked an outcry.
From The Guardian • Apr. 16, 2018
Subterfuge and misdirection: So what the heck is going on with Devin Nunes?
From Slate • Mar. 31, 2017
Subterfuge has no place in this company's established policy of complying with the letter and spirit of State Department requirements.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Subterfuge and deceit are as much at home in this deserted island as in Mayfair."
From The Wings of the Morning by Tracy, Louis
Subterfuge or not," interposed the princess, "this solitary walk was highly improper.
From Vineta The Phantom City by Werner, E. T. C. (Edward Theodore Chalmers)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
