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 perfectly still water creates a flawless mirror image of the stalactites above, tricking your eyes into seeing a vast, bottomless lake.—
Alexandra Emanuelli,
Southern Living,
16 Sep. 2025 -
What does work is tricking her into pressing a button that knocks her out.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That could be due to tariffs squeezing automakers, disincentivizing them from giving discounts.—
Senior Reporter,
PC Magazine,
12 Sep. 2025
-
This could be done by either squeezing the regular season even tighter with more midweek fixtures or putting the Wembley final back a week.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
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
Verb
-
There are things worse than cheating.—
Essence,
Essence,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported an uptick in the sale of blue books as a safeguard in testing to avoid students using AI for cheating.—
Laurel Donnellan,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The honeymoon phase can be deceiving.—
Essence,
Essence,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Share your horror at learning that this person is deceiving family members and basically stealing from them.—
Harriette Cole,
Mercury News,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
When not plucking away at a keyboard, Madison teaches yoga and mountain bikes with her two Australian shepherds, Cholla and Poppy, through Missoula's Rattlesnake Wilderness.—
Madison Dapcevich,
Outside,
29 Aug. 2025
-
It’s haltingly played, like a child plucking out the notes, to emphasize John’s deep connection to his daughter.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Spotify has been teasing the high-fidelity format for years.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
10 Sep. 2025
-
On Instagram, Alcaraz — who defeated Jannik Sinner in four sets to win his second title at the prestigious tournament held in New York — shared a carousel of images, teasing the process of his hairstyle switch-up.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
It’s revealed that Sklar was Lori’s inspiration as a child to become an artist, only to crush that spark a dozen or so years later with stinging cruelty.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Perhaps the loss, coupled with seeing Parsons thrive in Green Bay as the Packers get off to a hot start, is stinging the Cowboys’ top cornerback in Week 1.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share