skulduggery

American  

[skuhl-duhg-uh-ree] / skʌlˈdʌg ə ri /

noun

skulduggeries plural

1. a variant of skullduggery.

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skulduggery British  

/ skʌlˈdʌɡərɪ /

noun

1. informal underhand dealing; trickery

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• skulduggeries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of skulduggery

C19: altered from earlier Scot sculduddery; of obscure origin

Explanation

Skulduggery is dishonest words that are meant to trick people, like your brother's fast-talking that leaves you doing all of his chores and your own, plus giving him your allowance. He's a master of skulduggery. Skulduggery is an alteration of the Scottish word for "adultery," sculdudrie. Lies, deceit, dirty tricks? Sounds like skulduggery — or using clever words to take advantage of a situation, or person — is involved. However, skulduggery can have many other goals, from lying to potential customers about what a product can do or telling voters anything they want to hear in order to secure their votes.

Example Sentences

But I wouldn’t put it past him to be on some Chaotic Good-type skulduggery spreading the rumor that he is bigger than streaming’s infrastructure.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026

Prediction markets have spurred repeated allegations of skulduggery in recent months, ranging from insider trading by politicians to suspected rigging of bets on the Ukraine war.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

Jenrick managed to be late to his own defection, in the latest dollop of farce on a day groaning with drama, jeopardy, skulduggery and plotting.

From BBC • Jan. 15, 2026

After all my discussion about skulduggery in families and care homes, it really all depends on the family.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 31, 2025

Here was somebody who had brought the art of skulduggery to the highest point of perfection, somebody, moreover, who was willing to risk life and limb in pursuit of her calling.

From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl