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
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
The big question is whether Rodriguez is fooling Trump.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
Noun
No fooling, April brings some pretty interesting surprises on Netflix.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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
The big question is whether Rodriguez is fooling Trump.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fooling
Noun
-
What begins as a small con deepens when the painter’s shrewd agent (Gilles Lellouche) spots an opportunity, encouraging Suzanne to continue the deception as a way to revive his client’s creativity — and bankroll them both.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
12 May 2026
-
Olivia Beech, America’s youngest female sommelier, tragically lost her sense of taste during COVID, but relied on her sharp sense of smell until she was fired for her deception.—
Paula L. Woods,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
This method involves tricking an employee or person with elevated access into giving up their password.—
Marybel Rodriguez,
CBS News,
9 May 2026
-
Instead of acting independently, the forces influence one another to amplify the ion’s motion, thereby tricking the system into generating a much stronger, more complex interaction than either force could achieve alone.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
The romantic energy is strong, but so is the temptation to avoid emotional clarity by joking your way through serious feelings.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
12 May 2026
-
But Fonda was simply joking, the actress and activist said while kicking off the opening night of the TCM Classic Film Festival on April 30.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
However, the latter is revealed to be a ruse on the part of the trickster god.—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
6 May 2026
-
While sustaining the ruse for months, Ale arranged with an expectant young mother who didn’t want her child to take that woman’s newborn as her own.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
He's accused of deceiving more than 6,500 pet owners and denying them promised burial services.—
Meghan Schiller,
CBS News,
8 May 2026
-
Journalists must avoid deception, but the primary instance when it may be excused is in deceiving certain sources during undercover investigations on an issue of public importance.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
7 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
-
That was about trickery in a tight situation.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Obviously, the city knew that people would see through its trickery.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Whether those suspicions were valid or a result of subterfuge by Connelly, the Nuggets ultimately traded up six spots to draft Holmes, sacrificing three future second-round picks.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Including some subterfuge in this case.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fooling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fooling. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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