subterfuge
SUB-ter-fyooj
/ˈsʌb.tə.fjuːdʒ/
Deceit used in order to achieve one's goal; a trick or secret strategy used to escape a rule or hide the truth.
Emphasizes evasive action, secret tricks, or covert tactics to slip out of trouble or hide motives.
The story behind the word. Latin subterfugere literally meant 'to run away underneath'. Picture someone slipping beneath a fence or crawling underground to escape capture. Subterfuge became the English word for any sneaky maneuver used to escape accountability.
Word relationships
- artifice: Artifice is a staged display or craft, while subterfuge focuses on evasive maneuvers to avoid detection or rules.
- stratagem: Stratagem is a military or competitive trick, while subterfuge specifically carries a sense of secret evasion.
- openness: Openness means lack of secrecy or concealment.
- frankness: Frankness means direct and honest speech or action.
Commonly confused with
- centrifuge: A centrifuge is a rotating laboratory machine; subterfuge is evasive trickery.
Word family
- subterfugial (adjective): Characterized by or involving subterfuge (rare).
Collocations
- resort to subterfuge
- clever subterfuge
- political subterfuge
Idioms & expressions
- smoke screen
- cover-up
Example sentences
- "The operative used a clever subterfuge, disguising himself as a diplomatic courier to cross the border undetected." Espionage
Memory hook
SUB (under) + FUGE (flee like fugitive): running away under cover of darkness. Secret evasion trick.
When not to use
Do not use for open defiance or blatant lying; subterfuge relies on stealthy evasion.
Fun facts
- The root fugere (to flee) in subterfuge also gives us 'fugitive', 'centrifuge', and 'refuge'.
Related words
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