subterfuge
[suhb-ter-fyooj]
noun
an artifice or expedient used to evade a rule, escape a consequence, hide something, etc.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
stratagem, ploy, bluff, sham, deception, ruse, device, trick, hoax, artifice, refuge, fraud, evasion, cheat, shift, excuse, chicanery, sophistry, plan, scheme
Nearby words
- subteen,
- subtemperate,
- subtenant,
- subtend,
- subtenure,
- subterminal,
- subternatural,
- subterrane,
- subterranean,
- subterrene
Origin of subterfuge
1565–75; < Late Latin subterfugium, equivalent to Latin subterfug(ere) to evade (subter below + fugere to flee) + -ium -ium
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for subterfuge
subterfuge
noun
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
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subterfuge
1570s, from Middle French subterfuge, from Late Latin subterfugium "an evasion," from Latin subterfugere "to evade, escape, flee by stealth," from subter "beneath, secretly" + fugere "flee" (see fugitive).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper