flimflams 1 of 2

noun

plural of flimflam
1
as in ruses
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end giving the new guy at work her cell phone number—"in case of an emergency"—was just a flimflam to pique his romantic interest

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2
as in scams
an instance of the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value just the latest Internet flimflam to get e-mail recipients to reveal bank account numbers and other personal information

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flimflams

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of flimflam
as in cheats
to rob by the use of trickery or threats everyone likes to think that they're too smart to be flimflammed by anyone

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for flimflams
  1. ruses
  2. scams
  3. cheats
  4. schemes
  5. frauds
  6. squeezes
  7. devices
  8. stings
Noun
  • There’s a delightful secret history of Hollywood directors whose ruses and stratagems bought them an unusual amount of leeway with their scripts.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Even before pro-party AI ruses were possible, the Chinese government and its supporters flooded social media with pro-China propaganda and vicious attacks on critics.
    — Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
Definition of ruses
Noun
  • The duo shared an apartment and both had extensive criminal histories, including theft and financial scams, across various states.
    — Samantha Bergeson, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Kair noted that property scams happen hundreds of times a year, usually targeting seniors and typically involving realtors or lawyers.
    — Joan Murray, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of scams
Verb
  • The move, orchestrated by Everett to satisfy the demands of the company’s top-dollar backers, cheats Michael out of his stock options and equity in the company.
    — Senior Television, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Any forward who cheats for defence, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has for much of his career, will play an elevated role on a Babcock team.
    — Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 26 June 2026
Definition of cheats
Noun
  • Spoelstra finished tied with Houston’s Ime Udoka with the second-most votes (10%) as the head coach who has the best defensive schemes.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026
  • While both players moved around sometimes in their respective schemes, Shipp and Glasker do most of their damage as outside receivers.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of schemes
Noun
  • Only once the Buffs emptied offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s playbook, there was nothing left to fire at McGuire’s frauds.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 4 Oct. 2026
  • In my phishing protection test, Avira successfully detected and defeated 100% of real-world phishing frauds.
    — Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of frauds
Verb
  • But the strain extends across the Global South, where developing nations struggle with a prolonged energy crisis that disproportionately squeezes the planet’s most deprived.
    — Charlie Campbell, Time, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Meta squeezes two independent light-guiding cores into a single standard glass strand to double its bandwidth.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of squeezes
Noun
  • Every transformer on the grid—from the cylinders perched on utility lines to the big spiky devices at substations—trades voltage for current at a fixed ratio.
    — Alex Pasternack, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Within a day, the researcher began seeing active scanning of the simulated Plex server and eventually successful attempts to infect devices.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of devices
Verb
  • Clement famously tried to get the Supreme Court to overturn President Obama's signature health care law, a loss that still stings.
    — Carrie Johnson, NPR, 14 Oct. 2026
  • General Mills spun off Darden Restaurants in 1995, and then Darden sold Red Lobster in 2014, in a deal with the private equity firm Golden Gate Capital that still stings many veterans to this day.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of stings
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

flimflamming
flimflams
flimsiness
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Cite this Entry

“Flimflams.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flimflams. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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