as in baits
something used to attract animals to a hook or into a trap
we set the decoy afloat in the marsh and from the blind waited for the ducks to arrive
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in lures
to lead away from a usual or proper course by offering some pleasure or advantage
tacky souvenir shops to which first-time tourists had been decoyed into spending their hard-earned money
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of decoys
Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 29 Jan. 2026
Once completed, the spiders continue to maintain and modify the decoys, keeping them suspended near the center of the web.
—New Atlas, 21 Dec. 2025
About that time, another airboat came roaring through our decoys, intent on catching the bad guys.
—Scott Haugen, Outdoor Life, 18 Dec. 2025
Weapons that serve much the same purposes—smart stand-off attack, decoys, and stand-in jammers—have already existed for decades in the form of cruise missiles and decoys such as the ADM-160 MALD-X.
—Justin Bronk, Foreign Affairs, 15 Dec. 2025
Lethal objects refer to missile warheads, while nonlethal objects—such as decoys—are countermeasures designed to help armed missile payloads penetrate missile defenses.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
Then when Armenian air defenses revealed themselves to take out the decoys, air combat drones (UCAVs) and artillery eliminated the Armenian anti-aircraft sites, eventually giving Baku control of the skies.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 27 Nov. 2025
That's not with decoys, that's not with other means that would try to misdirect our interceptors from knocking down incoming missiles with nuclear warheads on them.
—ABC News, 2 Nov. 2025
Jason Newman, Rolling Stone, 20 Sep. 2025
Noun
Future versions are also planned for tasks like aerial refueling support, communications relay, and acting as decoys.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 29 Jan. 2026
Once completed, the spiders continue to maintain and modify the decoys, keeping them suspended near the center of the web.
—New Atlas, 21 Dec. 2025
About that time, another airboat came roaring through our decoys, intent on catching the bad guys.
—Scott Haugen, Outdoor Life, 18 Dec. 2025
Weapons that serve much the same purposes—smart stand-off attack, decoys, and stand-in jammers—have already existed for decades in the form of cruise missiles and decoys such as the ADM-160 MALD-X.
—Justin Bronk, Foreign Affairs, 15 Dec. 2025
Lethal objects refer to missile warheads, while nonlethal objects—such as decoys—are countermeasures designed to help armed missile payloads penetrate missile defenses.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
Then when Armenian air defenses revealed themselves to take out the decoys, air combat drones (UCAVs) and artillery eliminated the Armenian anti-aircraft sites, eventually giving Baku control of the skies.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 27 Nov. 2025
That's not with decoys, that's not with other means that would try to misdirect our interceptors from knocking down incoming missiles with nuclear warheads on them.
—ABC News, 2 Nov. 2025
Verb
Osit looks for answers in multiple places, interviewing law enforcement officials and district attorneys, academics, and former Perverted Justice decoys from the show.
—Jason Newman, Rolling Stone, 20 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decoys
Noun
-
Gel baits have quicker results than bait stations, meanwhile bait stations are perfect for ongoing maintenance after the use of gel baits.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Nov. 2025
-
New for 2025 at Bass Pro Shops is BioBait—lures made from a revolutionary formula that breaks down faster than traditional plastic baits.—
Ally Jaksen,
Outside,
17 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The film frankly depicts the extreme sub-dom relationship that Erika lures Elliot into, peppered with Araki’s trademark playful-surrealism while committed to a certain, refreshing explicitness.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Jimenez’s movement lures Matthijs de Ligt up the pitch, stretching the right side of United’s defence, with Leny Yoro already in an advanced position to defend Iwobi.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
An untrustworthy future tempts us to either disengage, retreat into cynicism, or live angry.—
Phillip Halpern,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Jan. 2026
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In Indiana, Paoli Peaks features the Arctic Blast Tubing Park, and Perfect North Slopes tempts with 25 tubing lanes (as well as skiing and snowboarding).—
Ginger Crichton,
Midwest Living,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The victim of his sacrifice is Gretchen, a virgin whom Faust seduces and abandons in his devilish reverie, and who kills their illegitimate child.—
Merve Emre,
New Yorker,
1 Dec. 2025
-
The film follows the deliciously immoral, widowed Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale), who maneuvers, deceives and seduces her way through London and across her relatives' country estates in an effort to find a wealthy husband for herself and her daughter, Frederica (Morfydd Clark).—
Andrea Wurzburger,
PEOPLE,
29 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Decoys.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decoys. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
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