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
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
The Naperville City Council election is April 1 (not fooling).
—Naperville Sun, Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2025
Noun
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
The Naperville City Council election is April 1 (not fooling).
—Naperville Sun, Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fooling
Verb
-
Give them reasons to keep reading, don’t try tricking them into it.—
JD Barker,
Rolling Stone,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Regulators argue Amazon broke competition and consumer protection laws by tricking customers into subscribing to Prime.—
Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
When Brian Kilmeade complained about the size, joking that sandwiches this large often require a fork, Han offered some playful advice.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Mars just kind of came joking around because that sounds bigger than life.—
Jodi Guglielmi,
PEOPLE,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In a chilling case of deception and domestic violence, what appeared to be months of stalking by an ex-boyfriend turned out to be an elaborate scheme orchestrated by a Colorado woman's own husband, culminating in her murder just days before Christmas.—
Doc Louallen,
ABC News,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Methods include propaganda, deception, sabotage and other non-military tactics, the alliance says.—
Sophie Tanno,
CNN Money,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Two culinary pros gave us the real scoop about how certain vanilla bean ice creams have been deceiving us all these years.—
Karla Walsh,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Opening arguments are set to begin Tuesday's in the FTC's lawsuit against Amazon for allegedly deceiving tens of millions of customers into signing up for Prime and thwarting their attempts to cancel it.—
Matthew J. Belvedere,Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
But authorities now believe Speight made the whole story up — and even shot himself as part of a ruse.—
Janelle Griffith,
PEOPLE,
30 Sep. 2025
-
How could Russ possibly sustain this ruse?—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
29 Sep. 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 Sooners won 24-17 over the Tigers, thanks in part to trickery on an Isaiah Sategna III wide-open touchdown.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
21 Sep. 2025
-
Corona del Mar used some trickery to take the lead on the ensuing possession.—
Michael Huntley,
Oc Register,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The act of subterfuge was particularly common in the 2000s, amidst America’s unpopular foreign policy and the country’s invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.—
Vivian Song,
CNN Money,
18 Sep. 2025
-
The trial was a kangaroo circus packed with sophism, subterfuge, and courtroom chicanery.—
Manuel Muñoz,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fooling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fooling. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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