FOOLING Synonyms: 172 Similar and Opposite Words

fooling 1 of 3

adjective

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

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fooling

2 of 3

noun

as in deception

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fooling

3 of 3

verb

present participle of fool

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in kidding

to make jokes an edgy comedian fooling with an appreciative college audience

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of fooling

Noun

No fooling, April brings some pretty interesting surprises on Netflix. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026

Verb

His Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Jessep isn’t fooling anyone with the calculated nonchalance and the propensity for quoting Melville and Shakespeare. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026 Scammers had been fooling Apple by returning iPhone boxes with the original accessories, internal components, or even the phone itself swapped out. — Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 26 Oct. 2026 In front of their 100th straight sellout, the Utes took a while to get going and their misdirection offense didn't seem to be fooling any Houston defenders. — ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026 Nielsen keeps it, fooling the defense and eventually being tackled at the 14-yard line. — Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 16 Oct. 2026 In the highlight, Marshall retrieves the ball and oddly fires it back to the infield, fooling no one. — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026 Anybody hoping that a Netanyahu defeat in October and the emergence of a less controversial successor will reset the table is likely fooling themselves. — Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026 Speaking on Harvard Business School’s The Founder Mindset podcast, hosted by senior lecturer and serial entrepreneur Reza Satchu, the Shark Tank investor argued that anyone trying to balance a young company against the rest of their life is fooling themselves. — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 17 June 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fooling

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

Definition of mocking

Verb

In 2020, a group of political operatives working closely with Florida Power and Light sought to derail Rodríguez’s re-election campaign for the Senate by tricking voters into voting for an independent candidate with the same last name.

— Jeffrey Schweers, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Oct. 2026
The top-performing red teamer on the original Arena was a lawyer from Melbourne who just happened to be good at tricking models into jumping their guardrails.

— Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of tricking

Verb

Stick it out through the trollish one-liners and half-joking ennui, and a galvanizing abundance grindset emerges.

— Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 5 Nov. 2026
Stewart concluded by joking that his final act of objetophilia had taken place in the very theater where the gala was being held, much to the audience’s dismay and amusement.

— Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of joking

Noun

When Abdul El-Sayed fundraised with members of the Soros family, Republicans said his campaign trail rhetoric about money in politics was a ruse.

— David Weigel, semafor.com, 28 Oct. 2026
In episode 4, Noah made up an elaborate ruse involving a fake friend’s wedding in Napa — a means of getting Joanne to wine country for a romantic weekend.

— Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of ruse

Verb

The first rule of thumb—and a solid piece of advice to live by—is that looks can be deceiving.

— Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 1 Nov. 2026
But looks are deceiving in this case – just like the 3X Plus and 3X before it, the trailer stretches out via three individual telescopic segments that emerge at the push of a button.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of deceiving

Noun

At the end of the game, the stronger, faster, more skilled team is bound to overwhelm any and all elements or trickery.

— Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 29 Oct. 2026
Rarely does a pop album so deftly lay bare the trickery of pop albums, while remaining a compelling pop album in its own right.

— Samuel Hyland, Pitchfork, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of trickery

Noun

Galloping advances in technology invite subterfuge and theft.

— Sam Mullins, Foreign Affairs, 28 Oct. 2026
The series unpacks the subterfuge and secrecy required to record the interviews and how Diana and Colthurst were on high alert while making the recordings, Barefield explained.

— Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026