as in blunt
being or characterized by direct, brief, and potentially rude speech or manner
he's a bluff but good-hearted teacher
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to fool
to cause to believe what is untrue
I bluffed the interviewer into believing that I could really speak French and thus would be the perfect person to serve in the newspaper's Paris bureau
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to pretend
to present a false appearance of
the basketball player bluffed a shot, then passed instead
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bluff
Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023
Though the Explorer majors much more on practicality, somehow Ford has managed to turn a fairly bluff front-end styling and generally boxy silhouette familiar to properly sensible family SUV into an attractive design.
—WIRED, 21 Mar. 2023
Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 4 Sep. 2025
Much of the rest of the hike was dry and traversed gentle gravel bars or smooth limestone expanses, skirting the edges of grassy bluffs and rocky cliffs.
—Eva Frederick, Travel + Leisure, 2 Sep. 2025
Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2025
The super-wealthy bluffed about fleeing the city following Bill de Blasio’s election in 2013 and again during the COVID pandemic.
—Andrew Rice, Curbed, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for bluff
Adjective
One day in 2010, an e-mail from Steve Wentzel, the Zimbabwean tycoon, arrived in the in-box of one of South Pole’s founders—a tall, bluff German man named Christian Dannecker.
—Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023
Though the Explorer majors much more on practicality, somehow Ford has managed to turn a fairly bluff front-end styling and generally boxy silhouette familiar to properly sensible family SUV into an attractive design.
—WIRED, 21 Mar. 2023
Noun
The film is based on the 1963 Akira Kurosawa film High and Low, which centers on an executive whose sleek, modern home at the top of a bluff in Yokohama is such a contrast to the slums below that its architecture motivates the film’s central crime.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 4 Sep. 2025
Much of the rest of the hike was dry and traversed gentle gravel bars or smooth limestone expanses, skirting the edges of grassy bluffs and rocky cliffs.
—Eva Frederick, Travel + Leisure, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
Oil prices closed 1% lower as traders seem to believe the president is bluffing and the tariff won't really go into effect.
—Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2025
The super-wealthy bluffed about fleeing the city following Bill de Blasio’s election in 2013 and again during the COVID pandemic.
—Andrew Rice, Curbed, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for bluff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bluff
Adjective
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Leslie had been discovered deceased in her upstairs bathroom, with the autopsy listing her official cause of death as blunt force trauma.—
Claire Lempert,
ABC News,
12 Sep. 2025
-
By reintroducing the War title, the Administration is sending a blunt message and in cyberspace, America is not only defending but also going on the offensive.—
Emil Sayegh,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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And thanks to the towering cliffs that shield the shoreline from strong winds, the beaches often stay warm even as the air cools.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Sep. 2025
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These boulders, ranging in size from several meters to hundreds of meters and weighing up to a few tons, occasionally tumble down cliffs and crater walls, leaving bright tracks of disturbed lunar dust behind.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Hurricanes explained by Ginger Zee Don't be fooled by the lack of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Basin.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
10 Sep. 2025
-
After driving his team to the 1-yard line, Fields fooled the entire Steelers defense on a fourth down, faking a handoff and then high-stepping into the end zone untouched to take a 32-31 lead.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The challenge is to stop pretending the current tools give full control and start demanding real visibility.—
Jagadeesh Kunda,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Kelley susses out that Göring is pretending not to understand or speak English, and for a couple of scenes that gives the shrink a leg up.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Fans think Nina Dobrev and Shaun White’s abrupt breakup makes a whole lot more sense after watching the actor’s latest TikTok video.—
Emily Tannenbaum,
Glamour,
12 Sep. 2025
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An investigative series about the abrupt closure of a Miami heart transplant program led Michelle and her colleagues to be recognized as finalists in two 2024 Florida Sunshine State Award categories.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This park is all escarpments, rivers, and old forests.—
Daniel Scheffler,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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On the eastern side of the escarpment near Noto Canyon is a deposit of sediment reaching up to 800 meters thick.—
Elizabeth Fernandez,
Big Think,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Now the abductees are required to trick others in turn.—
Christine Ro,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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In the hacking campaigns Proofpoint analyzed, cybercriminals attempted to trick users into downloading and installing Stealerium as an attachment or a web link, luring victims with typical bait like a fake payment or invoice.—
Ryan Whitwam,
ArsTechnica,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The paper also highlights the potential of digital twins — virtual patient replicas that allow doctors to simulate treatments before applying them in real life.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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Today’s use cases are limited, with most work concentrated on simulating chemistry and physics.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bluff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bluff. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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