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
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of underhanded
Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
This one was with the left hand, too, an underhanded prayer over the reach of Texas A&M’s Solomon Washington.
—Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2025
If the other AGIs take the bait, the insidious AGI stands tall as the best, assuming nobody finds out the underhanded gambit at play.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
Henry noted that Reese also attempts many of her layups underhanded, a technique that places the ball low enough for smaller guards such as Skylar Diggins-Smith to block her shot.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underhanded
Adjective
This act, designed to build intrigue for their WrestleMania match, portrayed Cena as underhanded.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
This one was with the left hand, too, an underhanded prayer over the reach of Texas A&M’s Solomon Washington.
—Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2025
If the other AGIs take the bait, the insidious AGI stands tall as the best, assuming nobody finds out the underhanded gambit at play.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
Henry noted that Reese also attempts many of her layups underhanded, a technique that places the ball low enough for smaller guards such as Skylar Diggins-Smith to block her shot.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underhanded
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underhanded
Adjective
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The quest to build human-level AI agents using techniques known to produce deceptive tendencies, Bengio says, is comparable to a car speeding down a narrow mountain road, with steep cliffs on either side, and thick fog obscuring the path ahead.—
Harry Booth,
Time,
3 June 2025
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Last year, the Biden administration's Transportation Department opened an inquiry ordering American, Delta Air Lines, Southwest and United to provide records and submit reports to ensure consumers do not face unfair, deceptive, or anticompetitive practices.—
David Shepardson,
USA Today,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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Syria under Assad is believed to have operated an extensive clandestine nuclear program, which included an undeclared nuclear reactor built by North Korea in eastern Deir el-Zour province.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 June 2025
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The only way to pre-empt detection by these IAEA watchdogs would be for Ukraine to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and expel the atomic inspectors, but those moves would amount to trumpeting Kyiv’s clandestine quest to develop a nuclear warhead.—
Kevin Holden Platt,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2025
Adverb
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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
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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
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On May 30, 2025, a Pennsylvania federal court refused NFL player agent Todd France’s request to vacate a December 2023 arbitration decision which ordered France to pay over $800,000 in damages to rival agent Jason Bernstein and which excoriated France for fraudulent conduct.—
Chris Deubert,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
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The couple were convicted of conspiring to defraud community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans as well as tax evasion and sentenced to 12 and seven years, respectively.—
Brie Stimson,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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Patti LuPone had a shady reaction to questions about Audra McDonald in a new interview.—
Joey Nolfi Published,
EW.com,
27 May 2025
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Simple Deluxe 9-foot Patio Umbrella and 50-pound Base Add a shady spot to your sunny patio space with this nine-foot umbrella that comes with a base that can be filled with up to 50 pounds of sand or water.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
26 May 2025
Adjective
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Striking Iran’s nuclear program would likely set off a much larger conflict in which Israel and the United States hunt for covert Iranian nuclear sites and Tehran retaliates in the Middle East and beyond.—
Richard Nephew,
Foreign Affairs,
26 May 2025
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Mon Mothma's speech Mon Mothma's covert support of the Rebels becomes public following the devastating events of the Ghorman Massacre.—
Nick Romano,
EW.com,
25 May 2025
Adjective
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Throughout the film, newspaper headlines and snippets of TV contextualize the story against the backdrop of anti-Vietnam demonstrations, colleges retaliating to student campus protests and aggressive policing, along with glimpses of Richard Nixon’s crooked grin.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
23 May 2025
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The moon's insides are crooked thanks to the near side being some 306 degrees Fahrenheit hotter at depth than its counterpart on the lunar far side.—
Ian Randall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 May 2025
Adjective
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So is this mystery novel secretly the story of The Gilded Age and is this an undercover crossover?—
Nick Romano,
EW.com,
6 June 2025
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The missing money controlled by Velazquez was supposed to go toward undercover narcotics operations.—
Charles Rabin,
Miami Herald,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Underhanded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underhanded. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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