skullduggery
Americannoun
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dishonorable proceedings; mean dishonesty or trickery.
They dealt in bribery, graft, and other such skullduggery.
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an instance of dishonest or deceitful behavior; trick.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of skullduggery
An Americanism dating back to 1865–70; variant of sculduddery ( def. ), originally Scots: “fornication, obscenity,” of unknown origin
Vocabulary lists containing skullduggery
2014 Vocabulary Video Contest (M-Z)
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Vocab Video Contest (2016) - List 5
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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.
And over six seasons, the series examined the under-explored territory that lay between two world wars—a kind of historical trench in which all manner of skullduggery could fester and bloom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
The false front is a bit of skullduggery that harks back to a world where conspiracy to escape detection was a part of everyday life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2025
If you allow it to go into the second innings, there could be a little bit of skullduggery.
From BBC ● May 22, 2025
To challenge that French postcolonial imperium built by cunning, corruption and covert skullduggery, Moscow needed an operative who could match Jacques Foccart’s legendary mastery of the dirty business of empire, measure for measure.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2023
And there'll be other men who won't be inclined to stand for skullduggery.
From Gold Seekers of '49 by Stephens, Charles H.
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.
