skulduggery
skul·dug·ge·ry/ˌskʌlˈdʌɡəɹi/noun
skulduggery is spelled S-K-U-L-D-U-G-G-E-R-Y: 11 letters and 4 syllables (skul·dug·ge·ry). It appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 95,993rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, skulduggery means “A devious device or trick” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of skulduggery is skulduggeries.
How many letters and syllables are in skulduggery?
| Letters | 11: S-K-U-L-D-U-G-G-E-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: skul·dug·ge·ry |
| In writing | about once in every 10 million words; the 95,993rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is skulduggery?
Skulduggery appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 95,993rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce skulduggery?
- UK /skʌlˈdʌɡəɹi/
- UK /skʌlˈdʌɡɹi/
- US /ˌskʌlˈdʌɡəɹi/
Skulduggery has 4 syllables, split skul·dug·ge·ry in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-skulduggery.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of skulduggery
- skulduggeries plural
- sculduggery
- scullduggery
- skullduggery
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does skulduggery mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A devious device or trick.
- 2
Dishonest, underhanded, or unscrupulous activities or behaviour.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Skulduggery in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense devious device or trick:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | entourloupe |
| German | Mauschelei, Hinterlist |
| Portuguese | trapaça |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does skulduggery come from?
An alteration of Scots sculduddery, sculdudrie (“adultery, unchaste behaviour; obscenity, lewdness”), of long-uncertain origin (probably a euphemism). Relation to skull is speculative at best and likely folk etymology. The American spelling skullduggery is in keeping with terms such as skillful and willful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).