Meaning & use

Chicaning

verb·Advanced

Last updated

Using trickery, deceptive argument, or evasive tactics to achieve a goal or avoid a point; also, in motor racing, driving through a chicane, a sharp double bend on a track.

See it in a sentence

The lawyer accused the opposing counsel of chicaning rather than addressing the evidence directly.

The driver was penalized for chicaning through the corner to gain an unfair advantage.

A note on using this word

From French 'chicane,' originally a legal term for pettifogging or quibbling tactics used to delay proceedings; the racing sense developed much later, in the 20th century.

Words with a similar meaning

deceivingevadingquibbling

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

being straightforward

Another way to use it

2. verb

To negotiate a chicane, a sharp series of bends on a racetrack.

The driver was penalized for cutting through the chicane instead of chicaning it properly.

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