Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A deceptive stratagem or device: "the paltry subterfuge of an anonymous signature” ( Robert Smith Surtees).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. That to which a person resorts for escape or concealment; a shift; an evasion; artifice employed to escape censure or the force of an argument.
- n. Synonyms Shift, etc. (see evasion), excuse, trick, quirk, shuffle, pretense, pretext, mask, blind.
Wiktionary
- n. An indirect or deceptive device or stratagem; a blind. Refers especially to war and politics.
- n. Deception; misrepresentation of the true nature of an activity.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. That to which one resorts for escape or concealment; an artifice employed to escape censure or the force of an argument, or to justify opinions or conduct; a shift; an evasion.
WordNet 3.0
- n. something intended to misrepresent the true nature of an activity
Etymologies
- French, from Old French suterfuge, from Late Latin subterfugium, from Latin subterfugere, to escape : subter, secretly, beneath; see upo in Indo-European roots + fugere, to flee.
Examples
“Regarding archives being deleted, it seems to me that a little subterfuge is required here, if you think your blog/newspaper is going to be bought out by megacorp, burn a copy on disc, say nothing, and take it home.”
“Despite what Zachriel may think, subterfuge is not an Olympic event.”
“More subterfuge is discovered, and in the end, the unicorn with the Jewel of Judgement appears.”
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror: The Great Book of Amber - Roger Zelazny
“But I don't mean to suggest that this is some form of deceit: it seems to me that the people fooled by this subterfuge are the people presenting the ID case themselves.”
“It doesn't have anything to add and can only dabble in subterfuge.”
“Indeed, if Obama, Reid and Pelosi use what can only be called subterfuge to pass the health care bill, what will they be emboldened to do next?”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Is the Slaughter Solution constitutional?
“Thank you, HBM for referring to all that which can only remain subterfuge.”
“The subterfuge was the Ethiopians putting the war lords back into power in Somolia.”
Think Progress » The U.S. has launched air strikes in Somalia
“The only character who sees through the subterfuge is the ex-CIA agent, abandoned by his country, whose life of dirty deeds on behalf of The Company prepares him alone to understand his role and dig his way out.”
“So the only way to get in there was to use -- using subterfuge, which is what I did.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘subterfuge’.
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common UA vocab. in US
Interesting, there is a traditional vocabulary of an Ukrainian, that differs from vocabulary of average American. It would be nice to explore it.
jackdaw, incongruous, cassock, vivid, magpie, humdrum, amongst, wonder, wandering, wheedling, wheedle, osseous and 368 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( etymology )
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 837 more...
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#faveword
Words chosen as favorites for the Twitter hashtag #faveword.
autumnal, grotto, chiaroscuro, sfumato, homunculus, zing, zest, effervescent, bewitch, avuncular, susurrus, Styrofoam and 205 more...
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GRE Study guide
Going through the Magoosh website, words I pulled from the verbal section. 2012.
magnanimous, correlate, anglicized, simulacrum, tantamount, obsequiousness, subterfuge, vehement, vociferous, benign, concomitant, veracity and 83 more...
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just neat
insolent, redolent, clammy, chunder, berate, vainqueur, neotony, milquetoast, semprini, twaddle, plethora, enteron and 28 more...
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In the News
Words from politics, news, and business
sedition, juridical, feckless, austerity, debenture, sovereign, subterfuge, amicus, obfuscate, transparency, usurp, paradox and 26 more...
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-fuge
expelling or dispelling
vermifuge, centrifuge, refuge, tænifuge, culexifuge, lactifuge, febrifuge, subterfuge, calcifuge, dolorifuge, nucleofuge, solifuge and 1 more...
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HollieGolightly's list
indigo, flippant, quaint, ebullience, subterfuge, conspicuous, surreptitiously, kodachrome, doppelganger, hullabaloo, nabob, motley and 21 more...
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February 2012
filiopietistic, bifurcate, enclave, wedlock, decadent, unduly, defunct, lapel, tumescent, capitulation, leaden, scintilla and 83 more...
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try to use now and then
exacerbate, inveterate, obviate, verbose, subterfuge, exasperate, disingenuous, squit, ingenue, Opiate, opioid, revile and 2 more...
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manipulative shit
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