trickery

American  

[trik-uh-ree] / ˈtrɪk ə ri /

noun

trickeries plural

1. the use or practice of tricks or stratagems to deceive; artifice; deception.

2. a trick used to deceive.

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trickery British  

/ ˈtrɪkərɪ /

noun

1. the practice or an instance of using tricks

   he obtained the money by trickery

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Synonym Usage

See duplicity.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• trickeries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of trickery

First recorded in 1790–1800; trick + -ery

Explanation

When tricks of any kind are used to fool or deceive someone, especially for financial gain, that's trickery. If you suspect that a cute kid has scammed you out of twenty dollars, you have every right to accuse him of trickery. Trickery is using pretense or sleight of hand or fast talking to cheat a person out of some amount of money, the way a card sharp or a con man might do. The earliest use of trick was in this negative sense — a mean ruse or cheat. Trickery simply adds the Middle English ery to the end to form a new noun.

Example Sentences

A real showboater is someone whose very mention elicits warm, fuzzy memories of flamboyant flicks and trickery.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

Filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski find an enchanting balance between storybook allure and adult trickery.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

His coordinators, who have stayed with him across four different schools since 2016, don’t rely on trickery or exotic blitzes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 10, 2026

While it’s upsetting that these GLP-1-specific skin care products are nothing new, it also means you can avoid falling prey to this marketing trickery.

From Slate • Aug. 21, 2025

I looked away for a second to give my deceitful eyes a chance to stop their trickery, to see what had to be there.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

Related Words

• chicanery
• deceit
• dishonesty
• razzle-dazzle
• scam
• shell game
• stunt