deception, fraud, double-dealing, subterfuge, trickery mean the acts or practices of one who deliberately deceives.

deception may or may not imply blameworthiness, since it may suggest cheating or merely tactical resource.

fraud always implies guilt and often criminality in act or practice.

double-dealing suggests treachery or at least action contrary to a professed attitude.

subterfuge suggests the adoption of a stratagem or the telling of a lie in order to escape guilt or to gain an end.

trickery implies ingenious acts intended to dupe or cheat.

imposture, fraud, sham, fake, humbug, counterfeit mean a thing made to seem other than it is.

imposture applies to any situation in which a spurious object or performance is passed off as genuine.

fraud usually implies a deliberate perversion of the truth.

sham applies to fraudulent imitation of a real thing or action.

fake implies an imitation of or substitution for the genuine but does not necessarily imply dishonesty.

humbug suggests elaborate pretense usually so flagrant as to be transparent.

counterfeit applies especially to the close imitation of something valuable.