subterfuge
/ˈsʌbtəɹˌfjuː(d)ʒ/
subterfuge means an indirect or deceptive device or stratagem; a blind. Refers especially to war and diplomatics. It carries an Arena rating of 1958, earned across 58 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, subterfuge ranks #530 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #736 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #791 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #830 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words.
subterfuge is pronounced /ˈsʌbtəɹˌfjuː(d)ʒ/.
Why “subterfuge” is a great word
SUBTERFUGE — [Noun] A deceptive stratagem employed to conceal one's true purpose or to evade an obligation. From the Latin subterfugere ("to flee secretly"), from subter ("under, secretly") and fugere ("to flee"). Unlike "deception," a broad canvas of falsehood, or "stratagem," a clever plan that may be forthright, subterfuge is the artful sidestep, the graceful vanish behind a curtain of misdirection. It is the forged alibi left carelessly on a desk, the feigned illness that avoids the unwanted dinner, the deliberately misunderstood question answered with a flawless but irrelevant truth—a quiet, elegant treason against the straightforward world.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French subterfuge m, from Medieval Latin subterfugium n, from Latin subterfugiō (“to flee secretly”), from subter (“under”) and fugiō (“to flee”).
noun
- An indirect or deceptive device or stratagem; a blind. Refers especially to war and diplomatics.e.g.“Overt subterfuge in a region nearly caused a minor accident.”
- Deception; misrepresentation of the true nature of an activity.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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