chicanery

[shi-key-nuh-ree, chi-]

noun

plural

chicaneries 

1. trickery or deception by quibbling or sophistry.

   He resorted to the worst flattery and chicanery to win the job.

   Synonyms: knavery, deception, fraud

2. a quibble or subterfuge used to trick, deceive, or evade.

   Synonyms: evasion

chicanery

/ ʃɪˈkeɪnərɪ /

noun

1. verbal deception or trickery, esp in legal quibbling; dishonest or sharp practice

2. a trick, deception, or quibble

Word History and Origins

Origin of chicanery¹

From the French word chicanerie, dating back to 1605–15. See chicane, -ery

Example Sentences

Forever Young was almost the victim of some legal chicanery on Saturday as trainer Chad Brown entered a horse — called a rabbit — with little chance to win so that he could set a fast pace.

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The investor who foresaw the collapse of Enron, he has one of the most sensitive noses for financial chicanery — and the ebbs and flows of investor credulence — in the business.

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In retrospect, the “Conor” moment in the Oval Office on March 12 looks like a set-up — or, more to the point, like a devious and especially petty work of MAGA-world chicanery.

Read more on Salon

Predictably, House Speaker Mike Johnson chimed in with his own false election claims, asserting that Republicans lost three California House seats in November because of vote-counting chicanery.

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Adopting any cat should not require exploiting a connection, a studious application of loopholes and other chicanery.

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Related Words

• dishonesty 
• duplicity 
• machination 
• stratagem