1
as in ruse
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
her husband used every trick in the book to get out of appearing in his parish's fashion show
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Relevance
2
as in prank
a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke
thought that gluing the silver dollar to the floor and watching him struggle to pick it up would be a good trick
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3
as in ritual
a usual manner of behaving or doing
that deadbeat is up to his usual tricks: once again he's claiming the check is in the mail
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4
as in feat
an act of notable skill, strength, or cleverness
it'd be quite a trick to hit that target from here
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5
as in trait
an odd or peculiar habit
a dog with the trick of eating cabbage
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to deceive
to cause to believe what is untrue
you tricked me into thinking my ex wasn't coming to the party tonight
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in tricky
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of trick
Caroline Lubinsky, Martha Stewart, 19 Feb. 2026
His hat-trick goal came less than a minute after his second, and the less said about the defending, above, the better.
—Caoimhe O'Neill, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
Becky Little, Time, 13 Feb. 2026
Among the biggest threats, Miller said, are scammers — criminals trying to trick you out of your money.
—Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2026
Jennifer Jolly, USA TODAY, 28 Oct. 2021
And arguably, given the variety of cask types used by the distillery, Angel’s Envy is actually a multi-trick pony.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 11 June 2021
See All Example Sentences for trick
Noun
Simple tricks like the ice cube method or professional cleaning can help revive compressed carpet fibers effectively.
—Caroline Lubinsky, Martha Stewart, 19 Feb. 2026
His hat-trick goal came less than a minute after his second, and the less said about the defending, above, the better.
—Caoimhe O'Neill, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
Verb
Heathcliff has tricked Edgar’s sister, Isabella, into marrying him by pretending to love her.
—Becky Little, Time, 13 Feb. 2026
Among the biggest threats, Miller said, are scammers — criminals trying to trick you out of your money.
—Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
If the high cost of it all is more trick than treat for you, here are several ways to turn your already smart home into a spook-tacularly genius haunted house.
—Jennifer Jolly, USA TODAY, 28 Oct. 2021
And arguably, given the variety of cask types used by the distillery, Angel’s Envy is actually a multi-trick pony.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 11 June 2021
See All Example Sentences for trick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trick
Noun
-
While the ruse was going, Schreiner lashed out at anyone who was skeptical.—
Kenneal Patterson,
Vanity Fair,
19 Feb. 2026
-
In a ruse that, for lack of a more astute reference point here, feels very Don Draper-coded, Rose poses as the dear male soldier who died next to her in battle, figuring why waste the deeds to perfectly decent land, or his name.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Like anything, our pranks revolved around the zeitgeist of the time.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
17 Feb. 2026
-
The series will see the students at Hartley High preparing for graduation and impending adulthood, but when a revenge prank goes wrong, lead character Amerie (Ayesha Madon) and her friends are forced to cover up their secret or risk losing everything.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Evening rituals in the communal Living Room rotate nightly, and could include old-timey games from Jinguashi in northern Taiwan, or a DIY herbal tea session inspired by the Chinese medicine shops lining Taipei’s Huaxi Street.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Spring cleaning is a ritual in many households.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Current coaches Dana Altman and Kelvin Sampson have also accomplished the feat, while Eddie Sutton, Roy Williams, Fran Dunphy, Lou Henson, Bob Huggins and Jim Larranaga had done it previously.—
Tom Murphy,
Arkansas Online,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Iowa's dominance in collegiate wrestling The Hawkeyes lead all Iowa schools with 24 team titles at the NCAA Championships, last accomplishing this feat in 2021, and are second all-time, behind Oklahoma State (34).—
Cooper Worth,
Des Moines Register,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Those traits were on full display against Dyes.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Anything that was anti-Jewish—a story about exclusion, an obstacle that hadn’t come down, a disapproving enumeration of supposedly Jewish traits—was possibly more fascinating.—
Nicholas Lemann,
New Yorker,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The conservative-majority court agreed to take up a case from Boulder, Colorado, among a series of lawsuits alleging the companies deceived the public about how fossil fuels contribute to climate change.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Feb. 2026
-
The conservative-majority court agreed to take up a case from Boulder, among a series of lawsuits alleging the companies deceived the public about how fossil fuels contribute to climate change.—
Lindsay Whitehurst,
Denver Post,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But determining how to structure reimbursements would be tricky, as the costs of the tariffs flowed through the economy in the form of customers paying the taxes directly as well as importers either passing along the cost indirectly or absorbing them.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Not only were his tricky feet hard to read, but his end product was difficult to cut out, too.—
Gregg Evans,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This latest news comes just a few weeks after Mayweather filed a lawsuit against Showtime Networks and the former president of Showtime Sports, accusing the company of helping facilitate a fraud scheme that deprived him of roughly $340 million in earnings.—
Matt Schubert,
New York Times,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Güell’s vision was to build an estate for affluent families—Gaudí planned 60 homes, a market, and gardens inspired by British parks (which explains the English spelling of the Catalan word parc), but the scheme never took off.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Trick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trick. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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