Words For Deception

adjective blatant - (of bad behavior) done openly and unashamedly

adverb blatantly - in an open and unashamed manner

• The company's blatant disregard for safety regulations led to a serious accident.
• It was blatant that he was lying about his whereabouts last night.
• That was a blatant foul, the ref totally missed it!
• Her blatant disregard for other people's feelings is really starting to bother me.

noun a means of altering one's appearance in order to conceal one's identity

verb to change or alter one's appearance in order to conceal one's identity

• The spy used a clever disguise to blend in with the crowd.
• She put on a disguise to sneak into the party without being noticed.
• He threw on a disguise to avoid being seen by his ex-girlfriend.
• His smile was a disguise, hiding the pain he was feeling inside.

verb to change the appearance or form of in order to conceal or hide

adjective having a different appearance or form in order to conceal one's true identity

• The spy was able to infiltrate the enemy base by cleverly disguised as a janitor.
• She showed up to the party disguised as a clown, it was hilarious!
• He was totally disguised as a hipster at the concert last night.
• Her true intentions were disguised behind a friendly smile.

noun a deceptive or fraudulent act or scheme

• The businessman was accused of attempting to hornswaggle his clients out of their money.
• I can't believe he tried to hornswaggle us like that!
• Don't let him hornswaggle you into buying something you don't need.
• Her charming smile was enough to hornswaggle even the most skeptical of individuals.

noun something designed to deceive or mislead

• The politician called the accusations against him a humbug and denied any wrongdoing.
• I can't stand all this humbug about the new diet trend, just eat healthy and exercise.
• Stop being such a humbug and just go to the party with us.
• His claims of being broke were just a humbug to avoid paying his debts.

noun a person who tells lies

adjective describing something as not truthful or deceptive

• The witness was accused of being a liar by the defense attorney.
• I can't trust him, he's a known liar.
• Don't believe a word that liar says.
• Her smile was as fake as a liar's promise.

verb to contrive or plot, especially in a secret or underhanded manner

• The group of conspirators decided to machinate a plan to overthrow the government.
• She's always machinating something behind the scenes.
• I heard they were machinating a way to cheat on the test.
• The wheels of power machinate in mysterious ways.

noun meaning: the practice of engaging in petty or trivial arguments, especially for the sake of delaying or complicating a legal process

• The lawyer accused the opposing counsel of engaging in pettifoggery during the trial.
• Stop with all the pettifoggery and just tell me the truth.
• I can't stand all the pettifoggery going on in this argument.
• The political debate was filled with pettifoggery, with both sides avoiding the real issues.

noun nonsense or foolishness; something that is absurd or ridiculous

• The scientist dismissed the claims as pure poppycock.
• Don't listen to him, he's just talking poppycock.
• That's a load of poppycock, don't believe a word of it.
• The politician's promises turned out to be nothing but poppycock.

noun a dishonest or unprincipled conduct or behavior; trickery or deceit

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• The investigation revealed a pattern of roguery within the company's financial department.
• I can't believe the level of roguery going on behind the scenes.
• That guy is always up to some roguery, you can never trust him.
• His charm masked a heart full of roguery and deceit.

noun the outward appearance or apparent form of something, especially when the reality is different

• The painting bore a striking semblance to the original masterpiece.
• There was a semblance of order in the chaotic room.
• She tried to maintain a semblance of coolness, but we could tell she was nervous.
• The politician's promises had only a semblance of truth to them.

verb to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate

• The politician was known to tergiversate when faced with tough questions.
• Don't try to tergiversate your way out of this situation.
• Stop tergiversating and just tell me the truth.
• His constant tergiversation made it hard to trust anything he said.

noun showy but worthless finery; nonsense or rubbish

adjective showy but worthless; delusive or shallow

• The museum curator refused to include any trumpery in the new exhibit.
• I can't believe she bought all that trumpery at the store.
• That trumpery is so tacky, why would anyone want to wear it?
• His promises were nothing but trumpery, with no real substance behind them.