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

Beyond the waterfront are dramatic coastal bluffs and an 880-acre preserve with miles of hiking paths and panoramic ocean views. — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 18 Aug. 2026

Gaasterland said in her candidate statement that her top priorities include utility undergrounding, local control of land use decisions, and removing the train tracks from the bluffs while avoiding a new route that tunnels under Del Mar homes. — Luke Harold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Aug. 2026

The Latour influence stretched from European high society to the Artois brewing empire, before finally reaching the bluffs of Esparza. — Donna Hardie-Scott, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026

While driving through Mendocino, make sure to stop by Mendocino Headlands State Park to witness the ocean bluffs and meander the coastal trails with your pup. — Rebecca R. Norris, USA Today, 22 July 2026

Bounou bluffs Most of the penalty kicks (43 of them), in this World Cup have been conventional goalkeeper-independent kicks, where the penalty taker has decided beforehand where to shoot, and just aims to get it there with pace and precision. — Geir Jordet, New York Times, 15 July 2026

Like a guardian of the absolute desert, Chile’s coastal mountain range sleeps a mineral slumber, the bluffs defending the driest desert in the world. — Cristina Dorador, The Dial, 14 July 2026

That property will triple the size of Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park from 75 acres to 207 acres by adding beaches and coastal bluffs along its southern edges. — Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 13 July 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