double-dealers
Sneaky trust-breakers
Double-dealers are people who practice deception by pretending loyalty or agreement to multiple parties while secretly working against one or more of them.
The term suggests duplicity and betrayal—saying one thing to one person and something contradictory to another.
The negotiations collapsed when the double-dealers were exposed.
Unlike mere liars, double-dealers specifically exploit trust relationships for personal advantage.
Those who mislead intentionally
- liarsTellers of falsehoods
- fraudsDeceptive acts or impostors
- impostorsThose falsely claiming identity
- con artistsPeople who cheat others
swindlers · cheats · charlatans · hypocrites · pretenders · dissemblers · tricksters · manipulators
Those who commit disloyalty
- backstabbersThose who deceive allies
- turncoatsThose who betray loyalties
- selloutsCapacity crowds or betrayers
- two-timersPeople cheating on partners
snakes · rats · informers · moles · defectors · collaborators · quislings · renegades
Secret intelligence gatherers
- operativesThose who execute missions
- infiltratorsThose entering by stealth
- counterintelligenceDefense against enemy espionage
- handlersThose who manage or control
assets · sleeper agents · moles · intelligence · covert · clandestine · informants · surveillance
Crafty plot makers
- corruptDishonest, open to bribes
- unethicalViolating moral standards
- embezzlersThose who steal entrusted funds
- insider tradingIllegal securities transactions using nonpublic information
kickbacks · bribery · collusion · conflict of interest · corporate espionage · underhanded · crooked · unscrupulous
deceivers
Those who mislead intentionally
con artists · swindlers · cheats · charlatans · hypocrites · pretenders · dissemblers · tricksters · manipulators · phonies
traitors
Those who commit disloyalty
- backstabbersThose who deceive allies
- turncoatsThose who betray loyalties
- selloutsCapacity crowds or betrayers
two-timers · snakes · rats · informers · moles · defectors · collaborators · quislings · renegades · apostates
spies
Secret intelligence gatherers
- operativesThose who execute missions
- infiltratorsThose entering by stealth
- counterintelligenceDefense against enemy espionage
handlers · assets · sleeper agents · moles · intelligence · covert · clandestine · informants · surveillance · classified
schemers
Crafty plot makers
- corruptDishonest, open to bribes
- unethicalViolating moral standards
- embezzlersThose who steal entrusted funds
insider trading · kickbacks · bribery · collusion · conflict of interest · corporate espionage · underhanded · crooked · unscrupulous · profiteers
double-dealersstraight shooters
Forthright, honest individuals
honest brokers · truth-tellers · straight arrows · loyalists · squares
double, dealer, dealers, dealing, dealings, deal, deals, dealt, double-dealer