Subterfuge Sub'ter.fuge, n. F., from LL. Subterfugium, fr. Subterfugere to flee secretly, to escape; subter under + fugere to flee. See Fugitive. That to which.

If you want to surprise your mom with a sweatshirt, but don't know her size, it might take an act of subterfuge, like going through her closet, to find it out. Subterfuge is the use of tricky actions to hide or get something.

It's pronounced 'SUB-ter-fyooj.' As a countable noun, a subterfuge is a tricky action or device: She employed a very clever subterfuge to get the information she needed. Subterfuge is from French, from Old French suterfuge, from Late Latin subterfugium, from Latin subterfugere 'to escape,' from subter 'secretly, under' plus fugere 'to flee.'

There is not a subterfuge or an evasion or a small mean deceit in her soul.There might be no subterfuge in answer to words so earnest, and Mr. Galloway did not attempt any.She had never been hard upon female trickery and subterfuge.Do you descend, sir, to a subterfuge, when I ask you for an explanation?We must procure the key from the prelate by some subterfuge.It was only his subterfuge—he thought Pete would not marry without him.Colonel Pride's name is on the package, but may not that be a subterfuge?Every lie, trick, subterfuge you can imagine, was practised on poor me.You would n't be a Frenchman if you had n't a subterfuge to escape a meeting!This man had presented his innermost self unclothed by any subterfuge.

RELATED WORDS AND SYNONYMS FOR SUBTERFUGE.

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