1
as in fooling
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in assuming
to present a false appearance of
the basketball player bluffed a shot, then passed instead
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in pretending
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Dissimilar Words
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Recent Examples of bluffing
Keith Phipps, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
But Zelensky said Wednesday that the Russian leader was bluffing.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2025
David Lerner, the mind behind MAGLYNX is not bluffing his way through buzzwords or chasing Silicon Valley validation.
—Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2025
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
Adjective
After successfully bluffing his way into the house, Tom fumbles an attempt to hide his reasons for being there, leading Robbie to take him hostage.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
But Zelensky said Wednesday that the Russian leader was bluffing.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2025
David Lerner, the mind behind MAGLYNX is not bluffing his way through buzzwords or chasing Silicon Valley validation.
—Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bluffing
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
Verb
-
Choose a reason, such as pretending to be someone else.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
28 Oct. 2025
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White, by contrast, is pretending to be one of America’s greatest musical icons, even doing his own singing.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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For example, the Europeans have been unwilling to confiscate frozen Russian assets to raise more money for Ukraine, earning duplicitous praise from the Kremlin.—
VERONICA ANGHEL,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Sep. 2025
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In Avengers: Endgame (2019), Redford reprised his role as Alexander Pierce, a duplicitous S.H.I.E.L.D. official first introduced in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.—
Hannah Parry
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
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
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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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According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the tariffs would cover roughly two-thirds of the primary deficit impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act over five years—or four-fifths over a decade, assuming temporary provisions expire on schedule.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
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Since assuming office in late 2023, Milei has wielded a chainsaw approach to government reform in Argentina.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The anti-American side focuses exclusively on the tragedies, usually makes slavery the chief argument for the prosecution, and dismisses the triumphs as hypocritical rhetoric.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
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In a society that is adamant, if hypocritical, in its moral rejection of violence, the ubiquity of such violent imagery seems to have its own kind of purpose.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 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
Verb
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By simulating thousands of powder and nanoparticle mixes, Citrine’s platform homed in on a high-strength alloy called AL 7A77, now used as the first 3D-printable aluminum powder that meets aerospace specs.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Oct. 2025
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One problem that conventional supercomputers face when simulating a molecule is modeling the interactions between every part of a compound, a problem that grows increasingly difficult the larger a molecule gets.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bluffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bluffing. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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