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
K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026
Lane Brown, Vulture, 15 May 2026
After killing Minnesota’s first power play, the Avalanche opened the scoring when defenseman Sam Malinski scored his first career playoff goal, fooling Wallstedt with a rising wrist shot.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 4 May 2026
But anyone in the auto industry who didn’t feel like something was going to happen in China five years ago was fooling themselves.
—Jamie Lincoln Kitman, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2026
Politicians are fooling themselves about the political power of health-conscious moms.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 22 Apr. 2026
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
Noun
No fooling, April brings some pretty interesting surprises on Netflix.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026
Verb
The other is fooling humans, particularly the dwindling number of journalists, critics, and other gatekeepers who are still capable of conferring legitimacy by paying attention.
—Lane Brown, Vulture, 15 May 2026
After killing Minnesota’s first power play, the Avalanche opened the scoring when defenseman Sam Malinski scored his first career playoff goal, fooling Wallstedt with a rising wrist shot.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 4 May 2026
But anyone in the auto industry who didn’t feel like something was going to happen in China five years ago was fooling themselves.
—Jamie Lincoln Kitman, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2026
Politicians are fooling themselves about the political power of health-conscious moms.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 22 Apr. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fooling
Noun
-
But in a further deception orchestrated by the Devil, the king’s mother is ordered to kill the queen and her child.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
-
Red-team against deliberate deception, not just natural variability.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
While Matthew and Mu-won started Gojeuneok Bio together, Chang-ho has launched a cosmetics company that makes its money by tricking smaller companies into giving away the secrets behind their products.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
29 May 2026
-
The church hosts sure love tricking us into eating raw broccoli by serving it up in this creamy pasta salad.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
24 May 2026
Verb
-
Liu is sworn to secrecy about the latter fantasy epic, joking that a publicist will blow dart us from across the room for saying too much.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
-
On the King's coronation day in May 2023, videos of Thompson helping the King with his ceremonial robes went viral, with commenters joking that the handsome soldier should be crowned as well.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
As Paula finally reaches Detective Gonzalez and excitedly chatters about her wire transfer ruse, the wry officer isn’t amused.—
Erin Qualey,
Vulture,
29 May 2026
-
Sunday outsmarted Adam and Hannah with a ruse at Tribal Council.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
Yet while Hiller has been seemingly everywhere on TV lately, appearances in this industry can be deceiving.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
30 May 2026
-
The final score was deceiving because the Rockies scored five runs in the ninth off infielder Miguel Rojas, who was pitching in relief to save wear and tear on the Dodgers’ bullpen.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
27 May 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
-
But ultimately, Williams believes AI can be an extension of editing trickery that has existed since the dawn of filmmaking.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
27 May 2026
-
Consider, too, relatively new forms of trickery, such as manipulating substitution procedures or spying on rivals.—
Cesar R. Torres,
The Conversation,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
Jakirovic was speaking before the EFL’s independent commission came down heavy on Southampton’s subterfuge.—
Philip Buckingham,
New York Times,
22 May 2026
-
Skip the subterfuge as the sun and Mercury harmonize.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fooling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fooling. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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