legerdemain.

1. Skillful hand movements used to deceive an audience, especially in conjuring.

2. Clever manipulation that hides or distorts what is really happening.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• perform legerdemain
• expert legerdemain

On the page

The audience applauded the legerdemain even after the trick was explained.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Usually uncountable; no ordinary plural in this sense. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: uncommon.