Standard Lemma guide

trickery

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /ˈtɹɪ.kə.ɹi/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: T R IH1 K ER0 IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Deception, deceit or underhanded behavior.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fraudulence, underhandedness, deceit, deceitfulness, deceptiveness, dissimulation, duplicity, fraudulency, trickery, perfidy, deception, imposition, hype, dupery, fiddle, fetch, hocus-pocus, jugglery, legerdemain, list, mislead, prestidigitation, Punic faith, rinky-dink, ruse, sleight of hand, subterfuge, swack

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The art of dressing up; imposture, pretense.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Artifice; the use of one or more stratagems.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: chicanery, chicane, guile, wile, shenanigan

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: deception, deceit, dissembling, dissimulation

Narrower terms: fraud, fraudulence, dupery, hoax, humbug, put-on, jugglery

5

noun

Meaning 5

verbal misrepresentation intended to take advantage of you in some way

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hocus-pocus, slickness, hanky panky, jiggery-pokery, skulduggery, skullduggery

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: misrepresentation, deceit, deception

History

Etymology

From trick + -ery, first recorded in 1719.

Across languages

Translations

64 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: օյինբազություն (ōyinbazutʻyun) — underhanded behavior
  • Bengali: কেরদানী (kerdanī) — underhanded behavior
  • Bulgarian: хитрина (hitrina) — underhanded behavior
  • Bulgarian: измама (izmama) — underhanded behavior
  • Catalan: engany — underhanded behavior
  • Chinese Mandarin: 權謀 /权谋 (quánmóu) — underhanded behavior
  • Chinese Mandarin: 詭計 /诡计 (guǐjì) — underhanded behavior
  • Dutch: bedriegerij — underhanded behavior
  • Finnish: hämäys — underhanded behavior
  • French: tricherie — underhanded behavior
  • French: magouillage — underhanded behavior
  • Old French: engin — underhanded behavior
  • Old French: engignement — underhanded behavior
  • Old French: tricerie — underhanded behavior
  • Galician: falcatrúa — underhanded behavior
  • Galician: falcatruada — underhanded behavior
  • German: Betrügerei — underhanded behavior
  • Ancient Greek: μαγγανεία (manganeía) — underhanded behavior
  • Hindi: धोखा (dhokhā) — underhanded behavior
  • Hindi: झाँसा (jhā̃sā) — underhanded behavior
  • Hungarian: fortélyosság — underhanded behavior
  • Irish: aisiléireacht — underhanded behavior
  • Irish: bobaireacht — underhanded behavior
  • Irish: camrasáin — underhanded behavior
  • Irish: ciolmamúta — underhanded behavior
  • Irish: cleasaíocht — underhanded behavior
  • Irish: cúinseacht — underhanded behavior
  • Irish: draíodóireacht — underhanded behavior
  • Irish: ealaíontacht — underhanded behavior
  • Irish: gleacaíocht — underhanded behavior
  • Irish: imeartas — underhanded behavior
  • Irish: lúbaireacht — underhanded behavior
  • Italian: inganno — underhanded behavior
  • Italian: trappoleria — underhanded behavior
  • Italian: accalappiamento — underhanded behavior
  • Italian: accalappiatura — underhanded behavior
  • Italian: tiro mancino — underhanded behavior
  • Japanese: 細工 (saiku) — underhanded behavior
  • Korean: 기만 (giman) — underhanded behavior
  • Latin: stratēgēma — underhanded behavior
  • Latin: dolus — underhanded behavior
  • Latin: calumnia — underhanded behavior
  • Latin: urbānitās — underhanded behavior
  • Latin: circumventiō — underhanded behavior
  • Norwegian: fusk — underhanded behavior
  • Old English: fleard — underhanded behavior
  • Portuguese: fraude — underhanded behavior
  • Portuguese: falcatrua — underhanded behavior
  • Russian: надува́тельство (naduvátelʹstvo) — underhanded behavior
  • Russian: уло́вка (ulóvka) — underhanded behavior
  • Russian: обма́н (obmán) — underhanded behavior
  • Sicilian: ingannu — underhanded behavior
  • Spanish: triquiñuela — underhanded behavior
  • Spanish: superchería — underhanded behavior
  • Spanish: trapisonda — underhanded behavior
  • Swedish: falskspel — underhanded behavior
  • Tocharian B: kuhākäññe — underhanded behavior
  • Ukrainian: обман (obman) — underhanded behavior
  • Ukrainian: ошуканство (ošukanstvo) — underhanded behavior
  • Ukrainian: шахрайство (šaxrajstvo) — underhanded behavior
  • Urdu: دم (dam) — underhanded behavior
  • Welsh: twyll — underhanded behavior
  • Welsh: dichell — underhanded behavior
  • Yoruba: àgálámàṣà — underhanded behavior