subterfuge

[suhb-ter-fyooj]

noun

1. an artifice or expedient used to evade a rule, escape a consequence, hide something, etc.

   Synonyms: ruse, dodge, trick, scheme, deception

subterfuge

/ ˈsʌbtəˌfjuːdʒ /

noun

1. a stratagem employed to conceal something, evade an argument, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of subterfuge¹

1565–75; < Late Latin subterfugium, equivalent to Latin subterfug ( ere ) to evade ( subter below + fugere to flee) + -ium -ium

Word History and Origins

Origin of subterfuge¹

C16: from Late Latin subterfugium, from Latin subterfugere to escape by stealth, from subter secretly + fugere to flee

Example Sentences

He agonized over the couple’s son, who had just witnessed his mother’s violent death, and vowed not to cheat the law with “subterfuge.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Barbara, 70, even had a Canadian lapel pin in her pocket – a gift from another tourist - which she thought might come in useful if further subterfuge proved necessary.

Read more on BBC

He agonized over their 22-year-old son, who had just witnessed his mother’s violent death, and vowed not to cheat the law with “subterfuge.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Teenage Misty just wants to be liked, which is sympathetic but really doesn’t justify all the murder and subterfuge.

Read more on Salon

What need would an evolved society have for a clandestine branch of special agents greenlit to engage in subterfuge, assassinations, and other grim dirty work?

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Related Words

• deception 
• ploy 
• ruse 
• sham 
• stratagem