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
Relevance
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
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Recent Examples of fooling
Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 8 Mar. 2026
Indeed, depth would only get in the way of the plot, which is primarily concerned with fooling you and fooling you again.
—Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
Watching Bedard break ankles on a nightly basis like Allen Iverson on skates, attempting one-man rushes most players couldn’t even fathom, fooling elite goaltenders with his patented drag-and-drive release, is exhilarating.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Anyone who says otherwise is fooling themselves.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Jan. 2026
The big question is whether Rodriguez is fooling Trump.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
Dallas’ Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center has been fooling birds for years, reflecting the sky and delivering a hard stop.
—Dallas Morning News, 9 Jan. 2026
Early reports indicate that kids are fooling the age-recognition software with sophisticated techniques such as drawing on facial hair and substituting celebrity photos for their own.
—Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2025
Anyone who thinks that this is an issue that could have been solved by nominating a couple more Spider-Man movies is fooling themselves.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Verb
But Baio says Kassotis has been fooling people for years.
—Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 8 Mar. 2026
Indeed, depth would only get in the way of the plot, which is primarily concerned with fooling you and fooling you again.
—Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
Watching Bedard break ankles on a nightly basis like Allen Iverson on skates, attempting one-man rushes most players couldn’t even fathom, fooling elite goaltenders with his patented drag-and-drive release, is exhilarating.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Anyone who says otherwise is fooling themselves.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Jan. 2026
The big question is whether Rodriguez is fooling Trump.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
Dallas’ Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center has been fooling birds for years, reflecting the sky and delivering a hard stop.
—Dallas Morning News, 9 Jan. 2026
Early reports indicate that kids are fooling the age-recognition software with sophisticated techniques such as drawing on facial hair and substituting celebrity photos for their own.
—Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2025
Anyone who thinks that this is an issue that could have been solved by nominating a couple more Spider-Man movies is fooling themselves.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fooling
Noun
-
Later that year, federal prosecutors in New York charged the company’s former CEO Joanna Smith-Griffin, with securities fraud and related offenses tied to investor deception.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
11 Mar. 2026
-
See what happens when jealousy, suspicion and deception take over.—
Hema Sivanandam,
Mercury News,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The peach-plum gradient gown is the creation of Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen, whose high-fantasy sculptural gowns emphasize movement and eye-tricking form, often to gravity-defying effect.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Or, in other words, tricking them by holding up a sign.—
Adam Ismail,
The Drive,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Group chat logs obtained by the Miami New Times in 2018 showed TPUSA chapter members joking about rape.—
Claire Heddles,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Always entertaining and joking with those around him, the outspoken American has taken on a showman personality at the Games.—
Tales Azzoni,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The shooting occurred following an apparent theft ruse by Thomas, who was captured on video twice stopping by Angelo’s Jewelry in the 3800 block of West 26th Street.—
William Lee,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2026
-
While the ruse was going, Schreiner lashed out at anyone who was skeptical.—
Kenneal Patterson,
Vanity Fair,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Defamation, which refers to a false statement of fact that is reputationally damaging, and false light, which is a technically true statement but is presented in a highly deceiving fashion, are other possible legal actions.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Looks, too, can be deceiving for those not on the grounds.—
Douglas Robson,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
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 Traitors winner Rob Rausch has paid the price for his trickery.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Mar. 2026
-
There’s almost nothing in the way of metaphor or trickery.—
Olivier Lafontant,
Pitchfork,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This claim swayed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to note this version of the administration’s fabrication in his dissent, which will be forever linked to this administration’s subterfuge.—
Mark Pirie,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Both nations are among the tournament's top contenders, which made the last few practices stateside simmering with subterfuge.—
Ren Clayton,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fooling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fooling. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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