hoodwink

verb

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hood·wink | \ ˈhu̇d-ˌwiŋk

hoodwinked; hoodwinking; hoodwinks

Definition of hoodwink

transitive verb

1 : to deceive by false appearance : dupe people who allow themselves to be hoodwinked by such promises

2 archaic : blindfold

3 obsolete : hide

Other Words from hoodwink Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about hoodwink

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Did You Know?

A now-obsolete sense of the word wink is "to close one's eyes," and "hoodwink" once meant to cover the eyes of someone, such as a prisoner, with a hood or blindfold. ("Hoodwink" was also once a name for the game of blindman's buff.) This 16th-century term soon came to be used figuratively for veiling the truth. "The Public is easily hood-winked," wrote the Irish physician Charles Lucas in 1756, by which time the figurative use had been around for almost a century and a half. Two hundred and fifty years later, this meaning of the word hasn't changed a wink: "The American public has been hoodwinked and fleeced," wrote Theodore Wolff, for example, in the Iowa State Daily on July 6, 2006.

Examples of hoodwink in a Sentence

Don't let yourself be hoodwinked into buying things you don't need. Tom Sawyer famously hoodwinked the other boys into thinking there was nothing more enjoyable than whitewashing a fence.

Recent Examples on the Web In other messages, employees bragged of their ability to hoodwink regulators. — Bloomberg Wire, Dallas News, "New Boeing CEO faces daunting task," 19 Jan. 2020 The hoax wasn’t entirely unmasked until 1965, but until then many people — millions, perhaps — had been hoodwinked. — Bruce Weber, New York Times, "Buck Henry, Who Helped Create ‘Get Smart’ and Adapt ‘The Graduate,’ Dies at 89," 9 Jan. 2020 Tales such as McIntosh’s — of being hoodwinked by a criminal only to face an uphill battle to be made whole — are on the rise, consumer and legal experts warn. — Nick Leiber, Los Angeles Times, "When a ‘trusted’ financial professional targets the assets of America’s elderly," 22 Oct. 2019 If that was the breakout, then the Dog Pound has been hoodwinked. — Ellis L. Williams, cleveland, "After pedestrian outing versus Steelers, Odell Beckham Jr. seems destined for forgettable first season in Cleveland -- Film Review," 5 Dec. 2019 His legit business was hoodwinked in this violent gunplay. — Rubén Rosario, Twin Cities, "Rosario: 1 gun, 3 shooting victims: the story of a ‘straw purchase’," 26 Sep. 2019 Just as the Terrapins were on the verge of forcing a third consecutive three-and-out deep in Michigan’s territory, they were hoodwinked by a fake punt that allowed the Wolverines to pick up a first down. — Rainer Sabin, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan football's blowout win more about just how bad Maryland is right now," 2 Nov. 2019 And with the help of her mother and grandmother, Jane usually manages to keep her head while those around her are being blackmailed, kidnapped, buried in cement, hoodwinked by evil twins and double-crossed by drug lords. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: Why ‘Jane the Virgin’ is the TV show you need right now," 5 Aug. 2019 Yet a large number of Africans outside Zimbabwe have been hoodwinked into believing Mr Mugabe’s lie that sanctions were responsible for hamstringing the entire economy and harming millions of blameless Zimbabweans. — The Economist, "Robert Mugabe leaves a bitter legacy," 7 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hoodwink.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.