double-dealer
Betrayer playing sides
A double-dealer is someone who acts deceitfully by pretending loyalty or friendship to two opposing parties, often for personal gain.
The term emphasizes betrayal through duplicity—saying one thing to one person and something contradictory to another.
Everyone trusted him until they discovered he was a double-dealer who had been selling information to both sides.
The related noun double-dealing describes this practice of deliberate deception.
Intentional criminal trickery
- impostorOne feigning another's identity
- charlatanFaker claiming false expertise
- swindlerPerson who deceives for money
- con-artistProfessional fraud perpetrator
cheat · phony · faker · hoaxer · pretender · scammer · grifter · liar
Disloyal pretend ally
- traitorOne who betrays allegiance
- turncoatOne who betrays allegiance
- JudasArchetypal betrayer name
- two-timerOne conducting parallel romances
sellout · defector · renegade · informant · mole · rat · quisling · collaborator
Deliberate misleading behavior
- treacheryDeliberate violation of trust
- perfidyDeliberate breach of trust
- deceitDeliberate misleading of others
- disloyaltyBreach of allegiance
infidelity · unfaithfulness · betrayal · deception · dishonesty · falseness · backstabbing · crookedness
One who controls cunningly
- conniverOne who schemes secretly
- plotterMachinator or diagram machine
- intriguerOne who schemes secretly
- mastermindScheme's chief planner
puppeteer · operator · Machiavellian · calculating · cunning · crafty · devious · underhanded
fraud
Intentional criminal trickery
- impostorOne feigning another's identity
- charlatanFaker claiming false expertise
- swindlerPerson who deceives for money
con-artist · cheat · phony · faker · hoaxer · pretender · scammer · grifter · liar · dissembler
backstabber
Disloyal pretend ally
two-timer · sellout · defector · renegade · informant · mole · rat · quisling · collaborator · apostate
duplicity
Deliberate misleading behavior
- treacheryDeliberate violation of trust
- perfidyDeliberate breach of trust
- deceitDeliberate misleading of others
disloyalty · infidelity · unfaithfulness · betrayal · deception · dishonesty · falseness · backstabbing · crookedness · shiftiness
manipulator
One who controls cunningly
- conniverOne who schemes secretly
- plotterMachinator or diagram machine
- intriguerOne who schemes secretly
mastermind · puppeteer · operator · Machiavellian · calculating · cunning · crafty · devious · underhanded · scheming
- cheaterscheat, cheater, con artist, swindler, deceiver
- deceiversliar, liars, deceiver, fraud, fake
- schemersschemer, manipulator, conniver, plotter, intriguer
- Crookscrook, swindler, fraudster, embezzler, con artist
- fakesfake, fakes, counterfeit, counterfeits, imitation
- scoundrelsscoundrel, rogue, knave, cad, villain
double-dealerstraight shooter
Forthright, blunt person
honest broker · truth-teller · straight arrow · man of his word · fairness
double-dealerloyalist
Faithful supporter of authority
faithful friend · true friend · stalwart · constant companion · trusted confidant
doubt, deal, double, dealer, dealing, dealt, doubled, doubling, doubles