Synonyms of bluffs

bluffs 1 of 2

noun

plural of bluff

as in cliffs

a steep wall of rock, earth, or ice

fossils embedded in a stone bluff that date from the Jurassic period

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cliffs
• escarpments
• palisades
• crags
• scars
• precipices
• scarps
• embankments
• buttes
• barrancas
• tors
• hogbacks
• cuestas
• declivities
• pitches
• bulwarks
• drop-offs

bluffs

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of bluff

1

as in fools

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

• fools
• tricks
• deceives
• gulls
• kids
• snows
• suckers
• teases
• dupes
• hoodwinks
• misleads
• hoaxes
• humbugs
• buffaloes
• deludes
• juggles
• misguides
• bamboozles
• gaffs
• cons
• strings along
• cozens
• misinforms
• has on
• sucks in
• cheats
• spoofs
• snookers
• gammons
• beguiles
• stings
• fakes out
• burns
• hornswoggles
• catches
• does a number on
• takes in
• has
• leads one down the garden path
• pulls one's leg
• pulls the wool over one's eyes
• swindles
• sticks
• rooks
• hustles
• fleeces
• defrauds
• mulcts
• flimflams
• puts on
• shortchanges
• chisels
• bleeds
• skins
• euchres
• diddles
• squeezes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• exposes
• reveals
• unmasks
• uncovers
• shows up
• undeceives
• debunks
• tells
• discloses
• divulges
• uncloaks
• unveils
• disabuses
• disillusions
• disenchants

2

as in pretends

to present a false appearance of

the basketball player bluffed a shot, then passed instead

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pretends
• simulates
• assumes
• passes (for)
• acts
• affects
• feigns
• shams
• fakes
• dissembles
• poses
• counterfeits
• professes
• plays
• makes believe
• puts on
• conceals
• forges
• masquerades
• imitates
• masks
• camouflages
• disguises
• impersonates
• lets on
• dissimulates
• feints
• playacts
• malingers

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of bluffs

Noun

There’s no such thing as a basic room here; even the smallest ones, at 240 to 260 square feet, look out over the bluffs to whitecaps winking in the sun. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Oct. 2026

Homes were built on beaches, bluffs and dunes during a period when the coastal storm climate was generally mild and there were no real concerns with coastal hazards and future sea-level rise. — Gary Griggs, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2026

Limestone bluffs, dramatic plaza entrances Notable, construction will include digging a 90-foot hole and sculpting the stadium site out of the ground’s limestone. — Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026

The Missouri River Runner runs daily and is a nearly 6-hour, one-way ride, tracing the Missouri river past bluffs, forests, and vineyards blazing red and gold each fall. — Lauren Dana Ellman, Midwest Living, 15 Oct. 2026

San Diego Police said on social media that Youngs may have been using her kayak near Black’s Beach, which is located below the bluffs of Torrey Pines. — Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2026

The western diamondback copperhead can be found in multiple areas, with a preference for arid areas, rocky outcrops and bluffs. — Isa Almeida, Oklahoman, 21 Sep. 2026

Mendocino, dominated by Victorian and New England-style saltbox houses, is built on bluffs overlooking the Pacific and surrounded by dramatic coast and forest. — Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026

One of the best places to do exactly that is Vicksburg, where travelers can tour the Vicksburg National Military Park, stroll the historic downtown, visit the Old Court House Museum, and enjoy views of the Mississippi River from the city’s bluffs. — Abby Price, Travel + Leisure, 4 Sep. 2026

Verb

Though lovelorn and broke, Annie bluffs her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals. — John Wenzel, Denver Post, 30 Apr. 2026

Mulugheta, who employed a similar strategy with client Jalen Ramsey that successfully forced a trade during the 2019 regular season, does not come off as a man who cavalierly bluffs. — Michael Silver, New York Times, 29 Aug. 2025