[…] Harry Monmouth, being in his right wittes and his good iudgements, turn'd away the fat Knight with the great belly doublet: he was full of ieſts, and gypes, and knaueries, and mockes; I haue forgot his name.
Source: wiktionary
Knavery
/ˈneɪvəɹi/
Synonyms for "knavery" (83 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: dishonesty, abomination, art, artful dodge, artifice.
- Sentence evidence is available for knavery, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, moby, derived_reverse, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "knavery".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "knavery"
Keep "knavery" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "knavery" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "knavery", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "knavery" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
8 entriesactus reusillicit conductimmoral conductmisconductmoral failingsocial critiquewrongdoingwrongful conduct
More specific
8 entriesCollocations
5 entriesinstitutional knaverymoral knaverypetty knaverypolitical knaverypublic knavery
Inflections
1 entriesDerivations
2 entriesSample sentences
8 total sentences available.
The young Oxonian, on the contrary, had led out one of his maiden aunts, on whom the rogue played a thousand little knaveries with impunity; he was full of practical jokes, and his delight was to tease his aunts and cousins; yet, like all mad-cap youngsters, he was a universal favourite among the women.
Source: wiktionary
Caſsio’s a proper man, let me ſee now, / To get his place and to make vp my will, / A double knauery—how, how,—let me see, […]
Source: wiktionary
[A]s our little Traffick with the Natives was hitherto upon the Faith of their firſt Kindneſs, we found ſome Knavery among them at laſt; for having bought ſome Cattel of them for our Toys, […] one of our Men differing with his Chapman, truly they huff’d him in their Manner, and keeping the things he had offered them for the Cattel, made their Fellows drive away the Cattel before his Face, and laugh at him; […]
Source: wiktionary
Showing 4 of 8 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "knavery"?
Closest matches include dishonesty, abomination, art, artful dodge, artifice.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "knavery"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.