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
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
as in deception
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fooling
Janis Carr, Oc Register, 13 Oct. 2025
Instead of fooling millions of people individually, attackers need only to compromise one AI model to reach millions at once.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2025
Your press release isn’t fooling anyone.
—Roberta Matuson, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Stop fooling yourself and listen.
—Richard B. Williams, Denver Post, 10 Sep. 2025
And tech companies must do far more in the design of AI systems to prevent people fooling themselves into thinking these systems are conscious beings.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2025
James cuts back inside onto his right foot, fooling the defender, rather than going to the byline off his left foot.
—Beren Cross, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Each plays a role in fooling their foe, who captures the turtle, while the deer, heeding the turtle’s good counsel, manages a sly escape.
—John Nemec, The Conversation, 7 Apr. 2025
Myatt has already served time for his fooling art auction houses and others into buying his copies of others’ art, and got out of jail for doing just that in 1999.
—The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 1 Apr. 2025
Noun
Only, Brown isn’t fooling himself.
—Janis Carr, Oc Register, 13 Oct. 2025
Instead of fooling millions of people individually, attackers need only to compromise one AI model to reach millions at once.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2025
Your press release isn’t fooling anyone.
—Roberta Matuson, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Stop fooling yourself and listen.
—Richard B. Williams, Denver Post, 10 Sep. 2025
And tech companies must do far more in the design of AI systems to prevent people fooling themselves into thinking these systems are conscious beings.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2025
James cuts back inside onto his right foot, fooling the defender, rather than going to the byline off his left foot.
—Beren Cross, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Each plays a role in fooling their foe, who captures the turtle, while the deer, heeding the turtle’s good counsel, manages a sly escape.
—John Nemec, The Conversation, 7 Apr. 2025
Myatt has already served time for his fooling art auction houses and others into buying his copies of others’ art, and got out of jail for doing just that in 1999.
—The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 1 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fooling
Verb
-
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
-
Some have also used the hashtag #homelessman to post their videos, all of which center on the idea of tricking people into believing that there is a stranger inside their home.—
Maura Murphy,
NBC news,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Moore was in the Bears’ locker room joking with teammates before leaving the stadium in an ambulance.—
Paulina Dedaj,
FOXNews.com,
14 Oct. 2025
-
Orgeron provided one of the most memorable quotes about his firing and subsequent buyout, joking about it when speaking to the Little Rock Touchdown Club in Arkansas in 2022.—
Sam Khan Jr,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Neither Eliot nor Jules suspected anything, and the ease of the deception added to its pleasing sordidness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Oct. 2025
-
On October 14, those flights revealed missile sites under construction, confirming that Soviet promises had been deliberate deception.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
That’s 14 years of dreaming, dissolving, romanticizing, escaping, and sometimes deceiving ourselves.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
19 Oct. 2025
-
The New York Republican was sentenced 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.—
Philip Marcelo,
Fortune,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
But the ruse hits a snag when Taylor's boss (Tia Mowry) starts to question Hugh Mann's credentials, and Taylor starts dating the son of the resort owner (New Amsterdam's Ryan Eggold).—
Breanne L. Heldman,
PEOPLE,
17 Oct. 2025
-
My office was among those that were subjected to this ruse.—
Victoria Moorwood,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
17 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 fun bit of trickery worked as Hunt gained 3 yards and got the first down.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
19 Oct. 2025
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And yet Broncos' run game and offensive trickery isn't working.—
Joe Nguyen,
Denver Post,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
His safe departure from Owensboro was effected [sic] through subterfuge.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
-
So ignore the subterfuge being generated by the tobacco/vaping industry.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fooling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fooling. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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