Synonyms: wile, artifice, trick, ruse, feint, stratagem, maneuver, dodge
These nouns denote means for achieving an end by indirection or deviousness. Wile suggests deceiving and entrapping a victim by playing on his or her weak points: "Eve yielded to the wiles of the arch tempter" (James Joyce).
Artifice refers to something especially contrived to create a desired effect: "Should the public forgive artifices used to avoid military service?" (Godfrey Sperling).
Trick implies willful deception: "The ... boys ... had all sorts of tricks to prevent us from winning" (W.H. Hudson).
Ruse stresses the creation of a false impression: "It is perfidy to use a flag of truce as a ruse to acquire military information or to play for time to retreat" (Thaddeus Holt).
Feint denotes a deceptive act calculated to distract attention from one's real purpose: "Rob ... sat staring at him, and affecting to snivel with sympathy, and making a feint of being virtuous, and treasuring up every word he said (like a young spy as he was) with very promising deceit" (Charles Dickens).
Stratagem implies carefully planned deception used to achieve an objective: "He was ... daring in the administrative stratagems he employed to bring himself to the attention of his superiors" (Joseph Heller).
Maneuver and dodge stress shifty and ingenious deception: "[He] was being accused of shady banking maneuvers and abusing his influence for his own financial gain" (Porter Shreve). "At my age one has had a considerable experience of the ins and outs, the dodges that accompany self-interest" (Saul Bellow).