as in joking
marked by or expressive of mild or good-natured teasing
ribbed him with fooling comments about how much his hair had grayed
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in deception
Related Words
1
as in tricking
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in kidding
to make jokes
an edgy comedian fooling with an appreciative college audience
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of fooling
John M. Crisp, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
The fastball-splitter combo was working well for him again, while his 74 mph curveball was fooling hitters all night as well.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2025
Only in 2024 did models begin outperforming humans, and by 2025, as previously mentioned, ChatGPT was fooling judges more than 70 percent of the time.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 22 Oct. 2025
North Korea, fooling no one, is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
—John M. Crisp, Twin Cities, 22 Oct. 2025
From footage of rabbits jumping on trampolines to babies walking from birth, some videos are easy to spot while others are fooling audiences.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
As Rolling Stone has previously reported, bogus images of classic rockers in hospitals or singing at the graves of other rockers have flooded the internet — fooling some fans in the process and provoking laughs in just as many.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2025
Sophomore wide receiver Cam Bates scored on a 35-yard end-around run in the first quarter, with the misdirection fooling the defense.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 19 Oct. 2025
Only, Brown isn’t fooling himself.
—Janis Carr, Oc Register, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
North Korea, fooling no one, is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
—John M. Crisp, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
The fastball-splitter combo was working well for him again, while his 74 mph curveball was fooling hitters all night as well.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2025
Only in 2024 did models begin outperforming humans, and by 2025, as previously mentioned, ChatGPT was fooling judges more than 70 percent of the time.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 22 Oct. 2025
North Korea, fooling no one, is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
—John M. Crisp, Twin Cities, 22 Oct. 2025
From footage of rabbits jumping on trampolines to babies walking from birth, some videos are easy to spot while others are fooling audiences.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
As Rolling Stone has previously reported, bogus images of classic rockers in hospitals or singing at the graves of other rockers have flooded the internet — fooling some fans in the process and provoking laughs in just as many.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2025
Sophomore wide receiver Cam Bates scored on a 35-yard end-around run in the first quarter, with the misdirection fooling the defense.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 19 Oct. 2025
Only, Brown isn’t fooling himself.
—Janis Carr, Oc Register, 13 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fooling
Noun
-
Always one step ahead of the police, Fantomas is a master of deception and chaos.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
4 Nov. 2025
-
The three-part docuseries that premiered this week chronicles how Rasmussen discovered Johnson’s deceptions and finally left him, only to be harassed by her ex after their divorce.—
Addie Morfoot,
Variety,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Growing tulips indoors in pots uses a technique called forcing—tricking the bulb and plant into blooming.—
Andy Wilcox,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 Oct. 2025
-
How to protect yourself from AI phishing scams AI phishing scams rely on tricking people into trusting what looks and sounds real.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Unlike following the loss in Philadelphia, the third-year swingman was in the Hornets’ locker room postgame in Washington and seemed to be in good spirits, joking with his teammates — including LaMelo Ball, who posted his first triple-double in nearly two years.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Oct. 2025
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Blue Jays manager John Schneider reopened the free agency saga ahead of the World Series, joking about the gear that was used to recruit Ohtani (and a gift given to his dog, Decoy), which may have added some motivation behind the chants.—
Gabe Smallson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Odysseus, the Ithacan warrior who is as celebrated for craftiness as Achilles is for brute strength, devises a clever ruse in which the Greeks place a giant wooden horse outside Troy’s walls and pretend to sail away.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
-
This basement ruse allows the law to be ignored as well as the special zoning requirements for homeless shelters and transitional housing.—
Lou Murray,
Boston Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Gordon warned me that this was deceiving.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Santos was sentenced to prison in April after admitting last year to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of 11 people — including his own family members — to make donations to his campaign.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
To get a sense of his whole deal, look no further than the half-mocking, half-earnest title of his latest album, Country!—
Jonathan Bernstein,
Rolling Stone,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The trickery -- a direct snap in the second quarter to RJ Harvey -- was working.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
26 Oct. 2025
-
The fun bit of trickery worked as Hunt gained 3 yards and got the first down.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The story then unfolded through the subterfuge of the princess and the care of Morton.—
Simon Perry,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
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Unlike the confrontational drudgery of couples therapy — and aiming to avoid the confrontational finality of divorce — this approach relies on subterfuge.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fooling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fooling. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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