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
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of bluffing
Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 2 Sep. 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
Lorne Michaels promised big changes at Saturday Night Live ahead of season 51’s premiere, and the creator and executive producer was evidently not bluffing.
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 2 Sep. 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
-
Instead of fooling millions of people individually, attackers need only to compromise one AI model to reach millions at once.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
20 Sep. 2025
-
Your press release isn’t fooling anyone.—
Roberta Matuson,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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According to the outlet and several videos circulating on social media, Mojito tricked pedestrians by pretending to inject them with a syringe in a series of viral videos.—
Luke Chinman,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
-
In the end, no one was pretending, unless pretense paid the bills.—
Lavender Au,
The Dial,
7 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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Yet pop culture continues to fixate on these single women, with horror movies in particular framing them as duplicitous and unstable—threats to the public good.—
Beatrice Loayza,
The Atlantic,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Malware has evolved to target macOS more aggressively than ever and many attacks now rely on tricking users rather than breaking through security software.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Brood parasites such as cuckoos lay their eggs in other birds’ nests, tricking the hosts into caring for their offspring at the expense of their own.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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With all members present, Johnson can currently only afford to lose two Republican votes on any bill, assuming all Democrats are opposed.—
Sudiksha Kochi,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Players today come into the league rightly assuming that audiences for professional women’s sports are there.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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However, his latest mistake is very hypocritical and raises some questions about double standards in his coaching.—
Drew VonScio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Most of these hypocritical legislators are near the completion of their involvement in the Capitol thanks to term limits.—
John Moorlach,
Oc Register,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Two culinary pros gave us the real scoop about how certain vanilla bean ice creams have been deceiving us all these years.—
Karla Walsh,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 Sep. 2025
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Opening arguments are set to begin Tuesday's in the FTC's lawsuit against Amazon for allegedly deceiving tens of millions of customers into signing up for Prime and thwarting their attempts to cancel it.—
Matthew J. Belvedere,Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This resolution strengthens the foundation for simulating reactor behavior and assures designers that graphite will perform its duties as expected.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Oct. 2025
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All this change has caused concern among competitors, some of which have been simulating the new designs for over two years.—
Alex Kalinauckas,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bluffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bluffing. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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