1
as in magic
the art or skill of performing tricks or illusions for entertainment
the illusionist's show is an entertaining blend of legerdemain and over-the-top showmanship
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in deception
the use of clever underhanded actions to achieve an end
the reduction of the deficit is due in part to financial legerdemain that masks the true costs of running the government
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of legerdemain
Both activities depended on legerdemain and made elaborate use of optical illusions.
—
Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2024
Any such legislative legerdemain would be an unwarranted assault to circumvent the caps.
—State Senator Stephen Harding, Hartford Courant, 26 Feb. 2024
This legerdemain enabled Bragg to circumvent the two-year misdemeanor statute of limitations — in other words, the time to charge this stale case, which is based on seven-year-old bookkeeping entries, lapsed in 2019.
—The Editors, National Review, 29 May 2024
Serious people should know what an older version of antisemitic denialism was all about: a steady stream of factual nitpicks, logical inversions and rhetorical legerdemain meant to obfuscate and deny the greatest crime in history.
—Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for legerdemain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legerdemain
Noun
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King Shrewd secretly trains young Fitz as an assassin, harnessing his ancestral magic.—
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But what if this middle ground isn't where the magic happens?—
Noun
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As an escaped convict posing as a beloved preacher, and as his gentle, upright twin, Robeson embodies a devastating split between appearance and truth, and whose uncanny doubling plays out in a community shaped by racial violence, spiritual deception, and economic precarity.—
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Ellie, however, cannot abide Joel’s deception, and interrupts to tell the truth to Gail, who then slaps Joel and tells him to leave.—
Noun
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Plus, the live-action shots and remarkable CGI trickery in bringing the Lupo creature to life are seamlessly integrated.—
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After Susy died suddenly in 1896, Twain wrote an essay, quoted at length by Chernow, about the sick trickery of the Almighty.—
Noun
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Remember when Russia was that pesky geopolitical force who’s own constant secrecy and subterfuge brought about the downfall of its imperial ambitions?—
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But this subterfuge is perhaps the very substance of the paintings.—
Noun
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Press play below to learn more about Wells’ treachery, and to get a sneak peek at the fugitive interacting with her latest target.—
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Sinners is one of the great vampire movies of the modern age, mining the legend of these perpetual outsiders who desperately yearn to belong, but whose silky promises are rooted in treachery.—
Noun
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While shocking nonprofit chicanery has found itself in the media spotlight, the story of one West Texas charity deserves to be told and to inspire.—
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The more processes and services a security tool contains, the more opportunities for such chicanery.—
Noun
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This year the skulduggery began early and has been raging for week.—
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Obviously, such a system is rife with uncertainty, and the history of the process is full of skulduggery, both on the club and player side.—
Noun
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Neither his fearsome resolve nor his supreme cunning—which had enabled him to vanquish his rivals and spiritually crush his inner circle—was in evidence in 1941.—
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Despite being outnumbered 50-to-1 by the Five Families of the Italian mafia, the Westies’ legendary brutality and cunning have given them the leverage necessary to share the spoils through a fragile détente.—
Cite this Entry
“Legerdemain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legerdemain. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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