1
as in tricked
to cause to believe what is untrue
a sleazy schemer who gaffed gullible people into thinking they could get rich with a money-making opportunity
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cheated
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
the operators of the traveling carnival had gaffed patrons with a variety of time-honored ruses
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gaffed
Verb
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Hershey's customers weren't really tricked by Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins, a judge has ruled.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
26 Sep. 2025 -
Although Louverture had resigned from his position as governor-general of the colony in May, in June 1802 one of Leclerc’s generals tricked Louverture into a meeting, summarily arrested him, along with his wife and children, and then forced them all onto a ship destined for France.—
Marlene L. Daut
September 22,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Around the time that the reunion aired, however, allegations that Pepe cheated began to circulate.—
Liza Esquibias,
PEOPLE,
25 Sep. 2025
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Passed over to his hapless son (Dacre Montgomery), our (anti-)hero wires a shotgun to his head and takes him hostage, claiming that the organization’s business maneuvers cheated him out of a substantial fortune.—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In order to not be fooled by narcissistic kindness, Sarkis encourages people to view one-off good deeds in the context of someone's overall behavior.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
25 Sep. 2025
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Don’t be fooled, there is intention.—
Martino Carrera,
Footwear News,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Ortega, 22, hit the red carpet in a look plucked straight from Givenchy's runway show, which featured several oversized jewels that draped against her chest and upper body.—
Starr Bowenbank,
PEOPLE,
24 Sep. 2025
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You got plucked from obscurity to do this project.—
Chris Lee,
Vulture,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The lawsuit, filed by the FTC in June 2023 under the Biden administration, alleges that Amazon deceived tens of millions of customers into signing up for its Prime subscription program and sabotaged their attempts to cancel it.—
Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
23 Sep. 2025
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Soto and her twins say both families were deceived – their family in Chile and their adoptive parents in Italy who didn’t know the girls had been taken away from their biological mother without her consent.—
Rafael Romo,
CNN Money,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Some people who have bought homes in the last few years feel squeezed by monthly payments that leave little cash left over.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
29 Sep. 2025
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Thomas turned around and squeezed DeChambeau’s leg with anxiety, his face in a nervous grimace.—
Brody Miller,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Agents grabbed one man who appeared to be charging up the driveway, pinned him to the ground and hustled him behind the gate with his hands behind his back.—
Caroline Kubzansky,
Boston Herald,
19 Sep. 2025
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Farnaz Farjam, one of the show’s executive producers, told Deadline that the production hustled to find a way to capture all three elements.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Congressional Democrats feel stung by the mass layoffs and program cuts that followed the last stopgap spending deal in March.—
Ronald J. Hansen,
AZCentral.com,
25 Sep. 2025
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At a family gathering in Huntsville, Alabama, I was stung by the divisive image on my 16-year-old relative’s T-shirt.—
Sabrina S. Fu,
Twin Cities,
18 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Gaffed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gaffed. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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