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.
If the premise sounds familiar, it is because food television has long cherished the notion that the truth of a restaurant can only be accessed by subterfuge.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
The 1990s cocktail revival introduced a layer of snobbery to speakeasy-style bars, long after any subterfuge was necessary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 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
And Tehran now sees the Witkoff track as subterfuge.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2026
Sometimes a little subterfuge and chicanery is in order and the quickest way to achieve one’s goal.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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.
