subterfuge
noun
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Subterfuge Has Latin Roots
Though subterfuge is a synonym of deception, fraud, double-dealing, and trickery, there's nothing tricky about the word's etymology. We borrowed the word and meaning from Late Latin subterfugium. That word contains the Latin prefix subter-, meaning "secretly," which derives from the adverb subter, meaning "underneath." The -fuge portion comes from the Latin verb fugere, which means "to flee" and which is also the source of words such as fugitive and refuge, among others.
Synonyms
Examples of subterfuge in a Sentence
Paul Wallich, Scientific American, July 2000
Williams has worn a wedding ring for the past decade. Originally it was a fake diamond used as a subterfuge during her days as an activist in Central America …
—Annie Leibovitz, Vogue, February 1998
The first pool appeared on the scene in 1791, organized to manipulate stock of the U.S. Bank. Members of a pool contributed money, which was handed over to a single operator, who put into effect various strategies and subterfuges. He could depress the price of a stock, buy a lot at the low point, then artificially raise the price, and sell at a profit; or he might sell short, then depress the price and make a profit.
—Kathleen Odean, High Steppers, Fallen Angels, and Lollipops, 1988
They obtained the documents by subterfuge.
propagandists who use a kind of photographic subterfuge, superimposing one image on another to create a false “reality”
Emily Heil, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
At the time, such subterfuges were still possible, but the government had since cracked down, as part of a general tightening under Xi Jinping.
—Peter Hessler, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
There’s less of a reliance on sending extra pass rushers but the subterfuge before and after the snap causes confusion and forces quarterbacks into bad decisions.
—Daniel Oyefusi, Miami Herald, 4 Feb. 2024
When management officials stand to benefit from a lack of outside scrutiny, subterfuge and misdirection become survival tactics.
—Michael McCaul, National Review, 7 Feb. 2024
Immediately, paranoia, sabotage, subterfuge and betrayal ensue as the six astronauts try to figure out who’s trustworthy and who’s not, even among their own.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2024
One of GitLab’s videos has more than 300,000 views and 200 comments, many aligning with this trend of workplace subterfuge.
—Rachyl Jones, Fortune, 7 Mar. 2024
There are two different paths for Chinese companies escaping the Mainland: 1) subterfuge to rebrand Chinese products and manufacturers by transiting third countries to avoid sanctions and taxes, and 2) genuine relocations of manufacturing capacity.
—Anne Stevenson-Yang, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024
In their place, Darren Beattie, a former speechwriter for Gaetz and the Trump White House who’d gone on to found a pro-Trump website called Revolver News, started publishing articles suggested a different source of subterfuge: the FBI.
—Josh Dawsey, Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'subterfuge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Subterfuge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subterfuge. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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subterfuge
noun
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