1
as in tricking
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in squeezing
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 gaffing
Verb
-
The schemes involve a predator pretending to be a teenager online and tricking victims into sending illicit photos of themselves.
-
Such techniques typically work by tricking the user into approving a request to approve a device owned by the attacker instead.
Verb
-
While the expiration of the enhanced ACA subsidies made insurance more expensive for millions of consumers, experts say other health costs, such as prescription drugs, medical tests and hospital bills, are also squeezing consumers.
-
Labor, rent, insurance, utilities, equipment and packaging are all squeezing already-thin margins.
Verb
-
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.
-
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.
Verb
-
For example, a spouse who catches their partner cheating and kills someone in the heat of emotion.
-
Few colleges have developed an intellectual integrity curriculum that treats cheating as a habit and works to counter it over the four years of a student’s college education.
Verb
-
The thing is, a lot of people have a talent for deceiving the public.
-
Park and weather officials alike emphasize to Grand Canyon visitors that hiking conditions can be deceiving.
Verb
-
As with the studio version, the track began with Lifeson plucking out a delicate intro on a nylon-string guitar before blasting into monster electric riffs.
-
Vogue’s beauty shopping editor Kiana Murden became a devotee after plucking it from the beauty closet and using it religiously.
Verb
-
The pop singer has been teasing her return to music over the past few weeks with cryptic posts on social media featuring various images accompanied locations, dates and times.
-
Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, took over as chief executive of Relativity a little more than a year ago, teasing new areas of focus such as orbital data centers, philanthropic space science ventures, and national security missions.
Verb
-
Letting go of the idea that success requires hustling at all costs — and replacing it with goals that feel attainable — can help founders shift toward a more sustainable approach, one where progress doesn't come at the cost of their well-being.
-
Sweeney’s character, Cassie Howard, ends the final episode still hustling, despite the violent death of her husband Nate (Jacob Elordi), the passing of her high school friend Rue (Zendaya), and the dismantling of her OnlyFans account.
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.
Cite this Entry
“Gaffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gaffing. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
