1
as in tricked
to cause to believe what is untrue
I fooled him into thinking that we were driving to the store, not to his surprise birthday party
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in joked
to make jokes
an edgy comedian fooling with an appreciative college audience
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Recent Examples of fooled
Don’t be fooled; this isn’t your typical museum.
—
Sierra Vandervort, Travel + Leisure, 20 June 2026
Don’t be fooled by its breezy ’60s-analog vintage pop sound.
—Daniel Kohn, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
God had never mandated sickness for His image and likeness, and I could not be fooled into feeling the effects of what was simply an unreal suggestion coming to thought.
—Reece Schaberg, Christian Science Monitor, 18 June 2026
Don’t be fooled by the small entryway; the position of the building lends itself to dedicating the floors above the lobby to the real scenery.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 June 2026
One is to emphasize Iago—the guileful, insinuating convincingness of this malicious supervillain, who works on Othello to the point where any reasonable man would be deceived and fooled and worked into a rage that can lead to such a catastrophe.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026
Busch wasn’t fooled when San Francisco Giants lefty reliever Erik Miller hung a 1-1 slider over the plate in the fifth inning.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2026
More knowledgeable shoppers than you have been fooled.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
Don’t be fooled by its plentiful packing space; the Cuyana style is still (somehow) compact and easy to tuck under your seat or in an overhead compartment.
—Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 10 June 2026
Sierra Vandervort, Travel + Leisure, 20 June 2026
Don’t be fooled by its breezy ’60s-analog vintage pop sound.
—Daniel Kohn, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
God had never mandated sickness for His image and likeness, and I could not be fooled into feeling the effects of what was simply an unreal suggestion coming to thought.
—Reece Schaberg, Christian Science Monitor, 18 June 2026
Don’t be fooled by the small entryway; the position of the building lends itself to dedicating the floors above the lobby to the real scenery.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 June 2026
One is to emphasize Iago—the guileful, insinuating convincingness of this malicious supervillain, who works on Othello to the point where any reasonable man would be deceived and fooled and worked into a rage that can lead to such a catastrophe.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026
Busch wasn’t fooled when San Francisco Giants lefty reliever Erik Miller hung a 1-1 slider over the plate in the fifth inning.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2026
More knowledgeable shoppers than you have been fooled.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
Don’t be fooled by its plentiful packing space; the Cuyana style is still (somehow) compact and easy to tuck under your seat or in an overhead compartment.
—Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 10 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fooled
Verb
-
The sample that tricked the most people came from a robot Bram Stoker.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
2 June 2026
-
Montreal opened the scoring when Dubois’ shot hit off of Elizabeth Giguere’s stick and tricked Rooney.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Some nations support Costa’s backchannel proposal As European leaders left overnight after the summit wrapped up, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever joked that Costa would be the envoy to Moscow.—
Sam McNeil,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
-
On the drive home from the hospital, the couple even joked about which child would say what first.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
18 June 2026
Verb
-
The problem is, most people feel deceived when the person in front of them doesn't match the profile.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
-
Do not be deceived by this seemingly simple question.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fooled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fooled. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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