1
as in deceptive
given to or marked by cheating and deception
the commercial is a part of an underhanded PR campaign to whitewash the company's environmental record
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in clandestine
undertaken or done so as to escape being observed or known by others
an underhanded attempt at infiltrating the other party's headquarters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in underhand
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of underhanded
Dominic Patten, Deadline, 4 Mar. 2025
Brittany doubtless committed homicide, but the underhanded techniques that helped put her on death row could also be used against innocent people.
—Lawrence Wright, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025
Question 300 supporters accuse the anti-marijuana majority on the council of using baldly underhanded tactics to thwart the will of the voters in this city of nearly half a million people.
—John Aguilar, The Denver Post, 19 Jan. 2025
The Trump team’s efforts to crush dissent range from public-media campaigns targeting vulnerable senators in conservative states (and paid for by unelected billionaires) to more underhanded tactics aimed at intimidating and discrediting potentially hostile witnesses.
—Jane Mayer, The New Yorker, 14 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underhanded
Adjective
Amidst, all the in court and outside court filings, statements and postures around this multi-lawsuit matter the NYT has long said its journalists did their job and there was nothing underhanded going on.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 4 Mar. 2025
Brittany doubtless committed homicide, but the underhanded techniques that helped put her on death row could also be used against innocent people.
—Lawrence Wright, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025
Question 300 supporters accuse the anti-marijuana majority on the council of using baldly underhanded tactics to thwart the will of the voters in this city of nearly half a million people.
—John Aguilar, The Denver Post, 19 Jan. 2025
The Trump team’s efforts to crush dissent range from public-media campaigns targeting vulnerable senators in conservative states (and paid for by unelected billionaires) to more underhanded tactics aimed at intimidating and discrediting potentially hostile witnesses.
—Jane Mayer, The New Yorker, 14 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underhanded
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underhanded
Adjective
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However, when adjusted for inflation, real prices in Turkey have dropped by 10.4 percent, illustrating how price growth can be deceptive without factoring in inflation.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
4 Apr. 2025
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Had these assessments been conducted, issues like algorithmic bias, content manipulation and deceptive AI practices would have been flagged before litigators intervened.—
Patrick Sullivan,
Forbes.com,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Taking over a century-old garden house hidden within Shanghai’s storied alleys, Samuel Gui Yang softly partitioned the space, seducing the audience yet making every one of them a clandestine voyeur.—
Tianwei Zhang,
Footwear News,
1 Apr. 2025
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In a display of gallows humor at the sloppiness of the leaders’ theoretically clandestine communication, people online quickly turned those symbols into memes, and renamed their own chats Houthi PC small group.—
Kyle Chayka,
The New Yorker,
26 Mar. 2025
Adverb
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Each team will alternate tossing the bean bag underhand onto the board until all four bean bags are thrown.—
Anthony Gharib,
USA TODAY,
13 June 2023
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Pitchers tossed underhand and no one wore gloves yet, resulting in smarting pain in the hands of catchers and first basemen.—
Jeff Suess,
The Enquirer,
29 Mar. 2023
Adjective
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Ask if there was any suspicious account activity, such as a login from a new device, before the fraudulent charges occurred.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
FOXNews.com,
10 Apr. 2025
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Barker and the business owner — who pleaded guilty in February on charges in a separate indictment — agreed to deduct the true cost of the supplies from the fraudulent invoices and split the rest between them, according to the indictment.—
Natalie Demaree,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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It’s implied that before going into construction, Levon had brought his military training into civilian life in some shady (though likely heroic) capacity or another — maybe even kidnap recovery.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2025
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During a recent conversation with legendary radio host Big Boy, the 26-year-old spoke about her haters and shady tension that led to this notion.—
Mya Abraham,
VIBE.com,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Then Gungnir covert sniper rifle seems like a bargain, relatively speaking, at just $12,867.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
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In the letter, Grassley wrote that the records would help shine a light on the Nazi planning of the covert escape routes.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Trailing by three runs, the Twins produced four two-out, run-scoring hits and their first crooked number of the season.—
Dan Hayes,
New York Times,
2 Apr. 2025
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However, they’re disbanded in the early moments of this third film as Eisenberg’s character tells a new generation of crooked magicians that his former comrades are dead.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Alan Ritchson says Reacher is the American James Bond Reacher works with DEA agents Susan Duffy (Cassidy) and Guillermo Villanueva (Roberto Montesinos) to go undercover in the rug-importing front, which is led by businessman Zachary Beck (Hall).—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
1 Apr. 2025
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To investigate further, the DEA had five undercover officers visit his clinic to see whether Hollington would prescribe them medications without legit medical reasons between February and July 2022, prosecutors said.—
Julia Marnin,
Miami Herald,
31 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Underhanded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underhanded. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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