Noun

(countable) An indirect or deceptive device or stratagem; a blind. Refers especially to war and politics.

Overt subterfuge in a region nearly caused a minor accident.

* 2010 , (Clare Vanderpool), (Moon Over Manifest)

How’s the spy hunt going? Uncovered any subterfuge ?

*{{quote-magazine, date=2012-03

, author=William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter , title=The British Longitude Act Reconsidered , volume=100, issue=2, page=87 , magazine=(American Scientist) citation , passage=But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge —a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea.}}

(uncountable) Deception; misrepresentation of the true nature of an activity.