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
Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 13 June 2025
When Gray tracks the scent of two bodies buried in the bluff, everything changes.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 31 May 2025
Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 June 2025
Count My Lies centers on compulsive liar Sloane Caraway, who bluffs her way into a job as a nanny for a gorgeous and charismatic couple, Violet and Jay Lockhart.
—Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 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
My heart started hammering when Will climbed onto a rocky bluff to spy on a troop of baboons and came within feet of a massive kudu.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 13 June 2025
When Gray tracks the scent of two bodies buried in the bluff, everything changes.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 31 May 2025
Verb
President Donald Trump has stripped down and distorted the lessons of the late statesman into a crude, transactional, impulsive worldview that mistakes bluffing for strength and coercion for strategy.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 June 2025
Count My Lies centers on compulsive liar Sloane Caraway, who bluffs her way into a job as a nanny for a gorgeous and charismatic couple, Violet and Jay Lockhart.
—Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bluff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bluff
Adjective
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That whimsical feeling correlates with the brand’s more blunt tone about ingredients used in our food system.—
Andrew Watman,
Forbes.com,
31 July 2025
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But compared to the other major metros in Texas, Austin has a blunt dividing line between its A- and F-rated schools.—
Keri Heath,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
Noun
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The hike comes with a rewarding payoff: The view of waters rushing off a cliff into a turquoise pool, a setting that's the crown jewel of the Havasupai Indian Reservation.—
Michael Salerno,
AZCentral.com,
25 July 2025
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Magic wrote alongside a photo of the happy group, posed on the deck, in front of a dramatic backdrop of seaside cliffs.—
Hannah Sacks,
People.com,
24 July 2025
Verb
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His impersonation is so convincing that Lu and Shin are initially fooled.—
Allison DeGrushe Published,
EW.com,
14 July 2025
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The Mets couldn’t pick up his slider and were fooled on his changeup.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
13 July 2025
Verb
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In the first song, JJ wears goggles and pretends to be a fast fish, splashing around the tub.—
Elisabeth Sherman,
Parents,
1 Aug. 2025
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The next morning, on Tuesday, July 29, the costars pretended to get caught making out on live TV for a funny moment while visiting the Today show together.—
Sarah Jones,
People.com,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The exact reasons for the abrupt March departure of Kroger's CEO have remained a mystery.—
Alexander Coolidge,
The Enquirer,
30 July 2025
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But Jose says the sudden overall enthusiasm for food additive regulation reflects consumer frustration with federal inaction and an abrupt political embrace of the issue by conservative lawmakers historically resistant to regulation.—
Yuki Noguchi,
NPR,
30 July 2025
Noun
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The swollen river overwhelmed Camp Mystic, where counselors and campers awoke in the dark and tried to dash through rising water, some clinging to trees or scrambling up rocky escarpments.—
Jon Schuppe,
NBC news,
9 July 2025
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With that enormous amount of moisture serving as fuel, the winds hitting the escarpment in West Texas served as a kind of match that started the storms.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
6 July 2025
Verb
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In the ensuing hours, Hernandez asked several times to go home, said the officers were trying to trick him, sobbed, clutched at his stomach, lay on the floor in a fetal position, had a fentanyl patch placed on his chest to treat his chronic pain, and mentioned his mental illness diagnoses.—
Joaquin Sapien,
ProPublica,
28 July 2025
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In the series, Haddix revealed to the audience that Tonka was alive and celebrated her tricking the court.—
Minyvonne Burke,
NBC news,
24 July 2025
Verb
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The captain announces the trip, vibrating chairs simulate the real thing while the plane windows offer views of the departure city (San Francisco), the sky and the tarmac upon landing in Mexico City.—
Susan Stapleton,
AZCentral.com,
31 July 2025
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The other Chargers tight ends would stand in front of Gates during practice and latch onto the different pieces of the vest to simulate the coverages Gates was seeing at the line of scrimmage.—
Daniel Popper,
New York Times,
30 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bluff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bluff. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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