1
as in fraudulent
given to or marked by cheating and deception
willing to stoop to underhand methods in order to win
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
the congressman's underhand attempt to slip several pork barrel items into the bill
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in underhanded
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of underhand
Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 24 Nov. 2025
The inmate seems to show his butt to the group one more time, and did an underhand slapping motion.
—Gillian Stawiszynski, Cincinnati Enquirer, 21 Nov. 2025
Anthony Gharib, USA TODAY, 13 June 2023
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
See All Example Sentences for underhand
Adjective
Humans were seen tossing balls underhand or stepping up to test batting responses.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 24 Nov. 2025
The inmate seems to show his butt to the group one more time, and did an underhand slapping motion.
—Gillian Stawiszynski, Cincinnati Enquirer, 21 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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
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
See All Example Sentences for underhand
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underhand
Adjective
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In another case, Nita Almuete Paddit Palma, 76, and her husband, Adolfo Catbagan, 68, are accused of operating three fraudulent hospice care facilities, including one that was operating while Palma was free on bond in another hospice fraud case.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
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Medicare paid the Gills more than $4 million on the fraudulent claims.—
Chelsea Hylton,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Emergency passports handed off at clandestine locations.—
Shannon K. Kingston,
ABC News,
30 Mar. 2026
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Jerkins’ family operation included his cousin, Robert Smith, known as Big Bert, with whom Brandy began a clandestine relationship as the recording progressed.—
Jackson Howard,
Pitchfork,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Also, offering free samples is deceptive marketing, due to evidence that 7-OH is addictive.—
Jack Harvel,
Kansas City Star,
31 Mar. 2026
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Set in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, the grandiosity of MoMA is deceptive.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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That secret, a CNN investigation has found, centered on China’s covert plans to massively expand its nuclear ambitions.—
Tamara Qiblawi,
CNN Money,
1 Apr. 2026
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Movies set in the world of top-secret spycraft and covert operations have entertained audiences for decades.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In addition to serving as a showrunner, Levy stars as Nicky, an openly gay pastor who gets wrapped up in a shady underworld plot with his flailing sister Morgan (Taylor Ortega).—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Apr. 2026
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They get captured by Hungarian gangsters and have to fight (and kill) their way out of an inn run by a shady former dance prodigy (Uma Thurman).—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Get Ready: Katy Perry Has Released a Sneak Peek of Her New Song And the internet has receipts.—
Mehera Bonner,
Marie Claire,
15 Mar. 2017
Adjective
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Debuting them in a brief, awkward first flight, like a firework that shoots crooked after being in storage too long.—
María Ospina,
The Dial,
31 Mar. 2026
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Tolkan also played Napoleon and his look-alike in Woody Allen’s Love and Death (1975) and was the crooked accountant known as Numbers who works for Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino) in Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy (1990).—
Mike Barnes,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Some of the ammunition was purchased from co-conspirators by undercover officers, prosecutors said.—
Sierra van der Brug,
Oc Register,
31 Mar. 2026
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Working with a different undercover officer, this time in a European city, Chalker successfully extracted Bernadine to America.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Underhand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underhand. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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