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
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How to protect yourself from AI phishing scams AI phishing scams rely on tricking people into trusting what looks and sounds real.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Oct. 2025 -
Some have also used the hashtag #homelessman to post their videos, all of which center on the idea of tricking people into believing that there is a stranger inside their home.—
Maura Murphy,
NBC news,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Down 38-14 early in the fourth quarter, Texas staged one of the college football season’s more improbable rallies Saturday, scoring 31 unanswered points and squeezing past Mississippi State 45-38 in overtime.—
Rowan Fisher-Shotton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Oct. 2025
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Haiti, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic’s steep terrain will force air upward, wringing out more moisture from the storm, just like squeezing a wet sponge, turning tropical humidity into torrents racing downhill.—
Chris Dolce,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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From footage of rabbits jumping on trampolines to babies walking from birth, some videos are easy to spot while others are fooling audiences.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
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As Rolling Stone has previously reported, bogus images of classic rockers in hospitals or singing at the graves of other rockers have flooded the internet — fooling some fans in the process and provoking laughs in just as many.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The documents included disciplinary information and reportedly showed that Sherrill was barred from walking at her 1994 graduation after refusing to inform on classmates involved in a cheating scandal.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
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In backrooms, there was none of the surveillance tech that reputable casinos use to catch players cheating.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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That’s 14 years of dreaming, dissolving, romanticizing, escaping, and sometimes deceiving ourselves.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
19 Oct. 2025
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The New York Republican was sentenced in April after admitting last year to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of 11 people — including his own family members — to make donations to his campaign.—
Philip Marcelo,
Fortune,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Considering Harner’s artistic growth spurt — the journey from plucking away off camera in high school to international touring came under half a decade — there is a lot for her fans to be happy about as well.—
Jed Gottlieb,
Boston Herald,
18 Oct. 2025
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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,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Bieber made his debut on Twitch yesterday with a stream that included footage of the singer playing basketball, shooting pool with friends and teasing his upcoming Coachella dates.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
23 Oct. 2025
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Samsung’s first Galaxy XR headset is now official, but that hasn’t stopped the company teasing future AR products.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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On the other side, the investigative news site Mediapart, which first broke news of Sarkozy’s Libya link, and other progressive titles delivered stinging editorials on his conduct.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
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The production was plagued by hurricanes, tsunami warnings, stinging jellyfish and several injuries — including Costner, who almost died while riding out a storm stranded atop a mast after his safety line had snapped.—
Peter Kiefer,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Gaffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gaffing. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
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