What does "skulduggery" mean?
A devious device or trick.
Skulduggery
/skʌlˈdʌɡəɹi/ noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A devious device or trick.
- Grammar: skulduggery is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: trickery, artifice, chicane, chicanery.
- Useful contrasts: honesty, integrity, legality.
- Usage evidence: This kind of partisan skulduggery has no place in a government agency.
How to use "skulduggery"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "skulduggery" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "skulduggery" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "skulduggery" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A devious device or trick. countable
"A private company cannot get away with a skulduggery of that sort. Once it has paid out its money for taxes, it cannot reach into the public treasury and get it back and apply it on its amortization account."
- 2 verbal misrepresentation intended to take advantage of you in some way wordnet
- 3 Dishonest, underhanded, or unscrupulous activities or behaviour. uncountable
"And I have another reason which I will express to my St Paul friends, and that is, that they have always been controlled in their political action here by a class of men who have always some traps set for the country members—by men who are always up to this border ruffian kind of trickery—this kind of skullduggery, as it is called in Minnesota. And now St. Paul allows herself to be controlled by these same border ruffian politicians."
Example
"This kind of partisan skulduggery has no place in a government agency."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "skulduggery"?
Common synonyms include: trickery, artifice, chicane, chicanery, collusion, con.
How do you use "skulduggery" in a sentence?
This kind of partisan skulduggery has no place in a government agency.
How do you pronounce "skulduggery"?
Pronounced /skʌlˈdʌɡəɹi/.
Etymology
An alteration of Scots sculduddery, sculdudrie (“adultery, unchaste behaviour; obscenity, lewdness”), of long-uncertain origin (probably a euphemism). Relation to skull is speculative at best and likely folk etymology. The American spelling skullduggery is in keeping with terms such as skillful and willful.