Synonyms of gimmick

gimmick

noun

ˈgi-mik 

1

as in ruse

a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end

that free dinner is just a sales gimmick to get you to listen to their sales pitch

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ruse
• scheme
• trick
• device
• ploy
• stratagem
• gambit
• jig
• sleight of hand
• knack
• dodge
• flimflam
• fetch
• sleight
• bluff
• wile
• deception
• artifice
• play
• hoax
• trickery
• juggle
• shenanigan
• feint
• subterfuge
• cunning
• end run
• skullduggery
• fakery
• chicanery
• duplicity
• jugglery
• swindling
• cheating
• swindle
• legerdemain
• skulduggery
• sham
• fraud
• gaff
• blind
• craft
• dupery
• smoke screen
• cozenage
• front
• crookery

2

as in gadget

an interesting and often novel device with a practical use

a car equipped with a parking spot locator and other neat gimmicks

Synonyms & Similar Words

• gadget
• tool
• contraption
• gizmo
• appliance
• mechanism
• accessory
• contrivance
• innovation
• widget
• jigger
• instrument
• gismo
• invention
• implement
• trick
• ingenuity
• utensil
• accessary
• adjunct
• thingamajig
• doohickey
• hickey
• dingus
• thingamabob
• thingumajig
• thingummy
• hootenanny
• doodad

3

as in hitch

a danger or difficulty that is hidden or not easily recognized

the deal sounds too good to be true, so make sure there aren't any gimmicks

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hitch
• risk
• pitfall
• snag
• kicker
• catch
• land mine
• gotcha
• joker
• booby trap
• catch-22
• trap
• surprise
• trip wire
• snare
• hazard
• decoy
• bomb
• surprize
• web
• bait
• peril
• bombshell
• lure

Examples of gimmick in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Even with the bizarre central gimmick, the movie invites comparison to two other recent biopics of British pop singers, Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman. —Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2024

Zimmerman himself mans Shudder’s Halloween Hotline, a gimmick to connect with current and potential subscribers that started during COVID. —Tony Maglio, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2024

With family members texting, emailing, Facetiming, and calling each other throughout like a digital British farce, the humor elevates what could have been a gimmick into a loving spoof of how all these devices can feed into parental paranoia. —Tanya Melendez, EW.com, 29 Sep. 2024

Many of the scent control gear and strategies are gimmicks, but some are not. —Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 26 Sep. 2024