Chicanery
Deception or trickery; a clever or fraudulent scheme intended to deceive.
nounChicanery
Deception or trickery; a clever or fraudulent scheme intended to deceive.
nounImagine This
Jeremy is teasing his younger brother. 'I'll bet you a dollar that you don't know what the difference is between a chick and a canary.' The younger brother, puzzled, then replied, 'Hmm, I don't know. Okay, you win the bet. Here's a dollar. So what is the difference?' 'I don't know. Look in the dictionary!' 'You're such a tricky person!'
Sounds Like
shi-KAN-uh-ree
Looks Like
A formal, foreign-derived noun ending in -ery; visually resembles other -ery nouns (e.g., treachery).
Remember This
From the French chicanerie, meaning trickery or deception; often used to describe deceptive practices, especially legalistic or rhetorical tricks.
Other Forms
Connect With
deception, trickery, duplicity, subterfuge, scheming
Note
Chicanery is a formal or slightly literary term. It often implies deliberate and subtle deception, sometimes through loopholes, misdirection, or ambiguous language.