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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of fooling
K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026
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
Noun
No fooling, April brings some pretty interesting surprises on Netflix.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026
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
-
In 2024, North Korea claimed to have successfully testlaunched a multiwarhead missile, but South Korea quickly dismissed it as deception to cover up a failed launch.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
30 Mar. 2026
-
These include debt bondage, restriction of movement, withholding of wages, excessive overtime, physical violence, surveillance, deception, isolation, abuse of vulnerability and abusive conditions.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeff Rosell issued a joint consumer alert on Wednesday describing the scheme, which appears to be part of a nationwide scam tricking people into making payments.—
Aldo Toledo,
San Francisco Chronicle,
18 Mar. 2026
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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
Verb
-
Comedian Charlie Berens also popularized the ritual, joking that it can be broken down into recognizable steps.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Over the radio, Bing Crosby is crooning, Bob Hope is joking, and news of the war — against Hitler, against Japan — keeps sizzling and crackling across the dial.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The play begins in the mode of a Black sitcom, but this is an elaborate ruse for a theatrical dissection of the subjects of race, representation, spectatorship and control.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Only when she is betrayed by a servant do the suitors discover the ruse.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The specifications on the Neo can be deceiving.—
Dwight Silverman,
Houston Chronicle,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Keep cool, as temperatures may be deceiving National Weather Service meteorologist Katherine Berislavich said overnight lows typically drop into the upper 60s this time of year but can rise quickly by morning.—
Jose R. Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
22 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 lawsuit also alleged that in that operation, border officials used trickery to get people to leave the country.—
Julia Ainsley,
NBC news,
16 Mar. 2026
-
His pace, trickery and willingness to run outside and stretch defenders will be useful in the coming weeks.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
10 Mar. 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
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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 1 Apr. 2026.
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