underhanded

[ uhn-der-han-did ]
See synonyms for underhanded on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. not open and aboveboard; secret and crafty or dishonorable: The firm's underhanded tactics and misrepresentation of data has created uncertainty and confusion.

  2. underhand (def. 1): The pitcher made an underhanded throw to first base.

  1. short-handed: By the time of the Navy game, Army usually finds itself underhanded.

Origin of underhanded

1
First recorded in 1820–25; under- + handed

Other words from underhanded

  • un·der·hand·ed·ly, adverb
  • un·der·hand·ed·ness, noun

Words Nearby underhanded

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use underhanded in a sentence

  • There is something underhanded about the deal or he would have come to me with the money.

    Tabitha at Ivy Hall | Ruth Alberta Brown
  • Now our artist is plainly worried and wants to be assured there is nothing underhanded being done.

    Polly the Pagan | Isabel Anderson
  • I know Mr. Stern, the president of Apex, very well, and I'm positive that he wouldn't stand for any underhanded tactics.

  • He picked up a rifle an inch below the foresight with an underhanded action, and used it exactly as a man would use a dagger.

    Soldier Stories | Rudyard Kipling
  • If Sir Lewis had wanted to get Harris, he'd have done it legally, without any underhanded frame-ups.

    The Penal Cluster | Ivar Jorgensen (AKA Randall Garrett)

British Dictionary definitions for underhanded

underhanded

/ (ˌʌndəˈhændɪd) /


adjective
  1. another word for underhand, short-handed

Derived forms of underhanded

  • underhandedly, adverb
  • underhandedness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012