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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of underhanded
Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025
For example, five of Reese’s 16 shots at the rim in Friday’s game against the Lunar Owls were underhanded.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2025
Barry famously shot his free throws underhanded, too, so this was kind of his comfort zone.
—Daniel Brown, The Athletic, 19 July 2024
This act, designed to build intrigue for their WrestleMania match, portrayed Cena as underhanded.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underhanded
Adverb
His underhanded attempt to maintain power over this case is a judicial power grab that the Department of Justice will fight by all means necessary.
—Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025
For example, five of Reese’s 16 shots at the rim in Friday’s game against the Lunar Owls were underhanded.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2025
Barry famously shot his free throws underhanded, too, so this was kind of his comfort zone.
—Daniel Brown, The Athletic, 19 July 2024
This act, designed to build intrigue for their WrestleMania match, portrayed Cena as underhanded.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underhanded
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underhanded
Adjective
-
The suit alleges excessive fees resulting in high annual percentage rates, deceptive tipping practices and misleading consumers about the voluntary nature of fees.—
AJ Dhaliwal,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
-
Mayes seeks to dissolve both companies, citing violations of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act and deceptive practices targeting underage customers.—
Jose R. Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
9 July 2025
Adjective
-
After paying private equity tycoon Jack McGinley $52 million in a clandestine off-market deal for the Georgian-style spread, which was designed by architect Don Nulty and built in 2009 for 9-1-1: Lone Star actor Rob Lowe, Levine and Prinsloo have put the place back on the market for $65 million.—
Wendy Bowman,
Robb Report,
10 July 2025
-
Built to listen for clandestine nuclear bomb blasts, the globe-spanning system detects low-frequency acoustic-gravity waves.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
9 July 2025
Adverb
-
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
-
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
-
Why Amazon Prime Day scammers are winning and how to stay ahead While Amazon hasn't released a formal statement yet, the company maintains ongoing efforts to detect and remove fraudulent listings and suspicious domains.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
5 July 2025
-
Republished on July 4 with further police and federal agency warnings that fraudulent callers are now targeting smartphone users in the U.S. This is not the FBI.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
4 July 2025
Adjective
-
To preserve your tools, clean them off then tuck them away somewhere cooler, dryer, and shadier like a garden shed or garage.—
Hallie Milstein,
Southern Living,
14 July 2025
-
In his search for justice on the frontier, however, Rabbi Mo unknowingly wades into the center of a lethal conspiracy tied to a shady land deal.—
Josh Weiss,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
Adjective
-
And Aleesha spontaneously planted a kiss on Luke while celebrating their successful covert operation to get Karina’s laptop.—
Claire Franken,
TVLine,
10 July 2025
-
Further, nations set on developing nuclear weapons can be subject to covert operations or outright military attacks, which can slow them down considerably.—
Brendan Rascius
July 8,
Miami Herald,
8 July 2025
Adjective
-
The coffeehouse patched with oleander, Captain’s house behind the crooked pine, our restaurant painted blue and white.—
Aysegül Savas,
Literary Hub,
8 July 2025
-
The name of the waterfall, township and river is considered to be an English or French interpretation of the Ojibwe name for the river, meaning crooked river, Ocqueoc Township's website says.—
Jenna Prestininzi,
Freep.com,
7 July 2025
Adjective
-
Watch a sneak peek below, then read on for more: Go undercover and solve local mysteries with Christmas shop owner Emily Lane!—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
7 July 2025
-
The guy who was in charge of buying apparently used a fake persona; this was very undercover, this is all happening secretly.—
Peter Balonon-Rosen,
Vox,
4 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Underhanded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underhanded. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share