Subterfuge is a noun that refers to deception.

Our word of the day combines the Latin prefix S-U-B-T-E-R, meaning ‘secretly’ with F-U-G-E from the Latin verb for ‘to flee.’ The words together give us a word to describe someone secretly escaping the truth.

We went to the retreat thinking we were participating in a camping trip, but soon discovered that the trip was just subterfuge for their true purpose: a high-level financial scam.