subterfuge
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of subterfuge
1565–75; < Late Latin subterfugium, equivalent to Latin subterfug ( ere ) to evade ( subter below + fugere to flee) + -ium -ium
Explanation
If you want to surprise your mom with a sweatshirt, but don't know her size, it might take an act of subterfuge, like going through her closet, to find it out. Subterfuge is the use of tricky actions to hide or get something. It's pronounced "SUB-ter-fyooj." As a countable noun, a subterfuge is a tricky action or device: She employed a very clever subterfuge to get the information she needed. Subterfuge is derived from the Old French suterfuge, which is ultimately from the Latin subterfugere, "to escape," from subter, "secretly, under" plus fugere, "to flee."
Vocabulary lists containing subterfuge
The Great Gatsby
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A Web of Lies
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Richard Nixon's "Checkers" Speech (1952)
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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.
The YouTuber, Kim Se-ui, has since posted a video claiming the authorities' allegations were a "subterfuge meant to disrupt his investigation".
From BBC • May 22, 2026
To counteract the maritime subterfuge, Kpler analysts have to play detective.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026
Through methods like search engine optimization and other nifty page-ranking subterfuge, this nonverified content climbs to the top of search results and people’s consciousness.
From Slate • Mar. 28, 2026
As the blunt but sweet small-town police chief, Marge Gunderson, McDormand shows up only when the audience is up to their eyeballs in snowy subterfuge.
From Salon • Feb. 7, 2026
But the harassed and unfeeling teachers assured each other that this was just a subterfuge for a child to get out of the classroom for a little while.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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.
