Meaning & use
skulduggery
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Meaning
noununcountableinformal
Dishonest or sneaky behavior, especially secret plotting to gain an advantage.
Grammar: No plural and no article: say 'some skulduggery', not 'a skulduggery'.
Patterns
- political skulduggery
- financial skulduggery
- a lot of skulduggery
- accused of skulduggery
The election was full of skulduggery, with rumors of bribes and fake ballots.
She suspected skulduggery when the files disappeared from the office.
The company's accounts were audited after reports of financial skulduggery.
Common combinations
- political skulduggery
- The scandal exposed years of political skulduggery.
- financial skulduggery
- Investigators found evidence of financial skulduggery at the bank.
- accused of skulduggery
- Two officials were accused of skulduggery in the bidding process.
- a lot of skulduggery
- There was a lot of skulduggery behind the scenes before the deal was signed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- chicanery
- Chicanery is more formal and often refers to clever legal or political trickery; skulduggery is broader and more informal.
- shenanigans
- Shenanigans often suggests mischievous or playful behavior, while skulduggery implies serious dishonesty.
- trickery
- Trickery focuses on deceiving someone, whereas skulduggery can include bribery, cover-ups, and other corrupt acts.
Opposites
Commonly confused: skulduggery or skullduggery?
skulduggery vs skullduggery
This is a common misspelling; the standard spelling is 'skulduggery' with one 'l' and no 'd' after 'skul'.
Practice
The investigation revealed widespread ______ in the awarding of government contracts.
Choose one answer.
Skulduggery is an uncountable noun, so it fits without an article or plural. 'Skulduggeries' and 'a skulduggery' are wrong because the word has no plural or singular countable form, and 'skulduggerous' is not a real adjective.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “skulduggery”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.