as in tricking
to cause to believe what is untrue
Tom Sawyer famously hoodwinked the other boys into thinking there was nothing more enjoyable than whitewashing a fence
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in fooling
Related Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoodwinking
Verb
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How to protect yourself from AI phishing scams AI phishing scams rely on tricking people into trusting what looks and sounds real.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Oct. 2025 -
Some have also used the hashtag #homelessman to post their videos, all of which center on the idea of tricking people into believing that there is a stranger inside their home.—
Maura Murphy,
NBC news,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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From footage of rabbits jumping on trampolines to babies walking from birth, some videos are easy to spot while others are fooling audiences.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
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As Rolling Stone has previously reported, bogus images of classic rockers in hospitals or singing at the graves of other rockers have flooded the internet — fooling some fans in the process and provoking laughs in just as many.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say the ex-athletes and all the other players were in on a ruse, using technology to rig the outcome.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
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But the ruse hits a snag when Taylor's boss (Tia Mowry) starts to question Hugh Mann's credentials, and Taylor starts dating the son of the resort owner (New Amsterdam's Ryan Eggold).—
Breanne L. Heldman,
PEOPLE,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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To begin with, looks that are deceiving.—
Lizz Schumer,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
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That’s 14 years of dreaming, dissolving, romanticizing, escaping, and sometimes deceiving ourselves.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Unlike the confrontational drudgery of couples therapy — and aiming to avoid the confrontational finality of divorce — this approach relies on subterfuge.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
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His safe departure from Owensboro was effected [sic] through subterfuge.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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As various ancient sources recount, after Achilles is killed by Paris, the Greeks resort to deception.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
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Real war introduces deception, saturation attacks and human failures.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The fun bit of trickery worked as Hunt gained 3 yards and got the first down.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
19 Oct. 2025
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And yet Broncos' run game and offensive trickery isn't working.—
Joe Nguyen,
Denver Post,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Night after night the stratagem was repeated successfully.—
Robert Easton,
Outdoor Life,
3 Sep. 2025
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For people like Soriano, however, the elections are about more than political stratagem and determining which family holds the most nominal power.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
13 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Hoodwinking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoodwinking. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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