subterfuge
[ suhb-ter-fyooj ]
/ ˈsʌb tərˌfyudʒ /
noun
an artifice or expedient used to evade a rule, escape a consequence, hide something, etc.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON THESE WORDS FROM BROWN GIRL DREAMING!
Visualize yourself passing this quiz on words from Jacqueline Woodson’s exquisite verse novel “Brown Girl Dreaming,” and then take the quiz to prove you can do it! (Because you can.)
Question 1 of 10
What does “barren” mean?
Origin of subterfuge
1565–75; <Late Latin subterfugium, equivalent to Latin subterfug(ere) to evade (subter below + fugere to flee) + -ium-ium
Words nearby subterfuge
subteen, subtemperate, subtenant, subtend, subtenure, subterfuge, subterminal, subternatural, subterrane, subterranean, subterrestrial
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for subterfuge
British Dictionary definitions for subterfuge
subterfuge
/ (ˈsʌbtəˌfjuːdʒ) /
noun
a stratagem employed to conceal something, evade an argument, etc
Word Origin for subterfuge
C16: from Late Latin subterfugium, from Latin subterfugere to escape by stealth, from subter secretly + fugere to flee
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012