as in to deceive
to cause to believe what is untrue
Tom Sawyer famously hoodwinked the other boys into thinking there was nothing more enjoyable than whitewashing a fence
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Recent Examples of hoodwink
That rowdy group is out to swindle and hoodwink rich guys.
—
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 14 Jan. 2026
Even as the Deliriant and his pint-size accomplice attempt to hoodwink a monster, they’re left to wonder, poignantly, if anything in their duplicitous world is real.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2025
Reps for Young and Baez declined to comment, much like reps for Bob Dylan, Phil Collins, Bruce Springsteen, and others who have passed on making statements about AI imagery that’s hoodwinked whatever percentage of their fan bases.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2025
Slow Horses is a twisty show, but the assumption that Roddy had been hoodwinked by a glamorous woman far out of his league seemed about as safe a bet as possible.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hoodwink
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 14 Jan. 2026
Even as the Deliriant and his pint-size accomplice attempt to hoodwink a monster, they’re left to wonder, poignantly, if anything in their duplicitous world is real.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2025
Reps for Young and Baez declined to comment, much like reps for Bob Dylan, Phil Collins, Bruce Springsteen, and others who have passed on making statements about AI imagery that’s hoodwinked whatever percentage of their fan bases.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2025
Slow Horses is a twisty show, but the assumption that Roddy had been hoodwinked by a glamorous woman far out of his league seemed about as safe a bet as possible.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hoodwink
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoodwink
Verb
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Nope, that's not your eyes deceiving you.—
Christina Perrier,
InStyle,
15 Mar. 2026
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Months after the girl had died, a DCF worker investigating a complaint related to Torres-García’s younger sister was deceived by the children’s mother during a video chat with a person the child’s mother asked to impersonate the child, according to the agency.—
Ginny Monk,
Hartford Courant,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But don’t let that demure and goofy personality fool you!—
Heide Janssen,
Oc Register,
15 Mar. 2026
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Tatum then isolated against the Spurs big man, fooled him with an up-fake, finished at the rim and smiled after being shoved to the ground.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But savvy marketing campaigns and partnerships with major employers have tricked consumers into turning back to payday loans.—
Christopher Greenwood,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Mar. 2026
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Each filing season brings new tactics designed to trick taxpayers into revealing personal information or claiming refunds they are not entitled to receive.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hoodwink.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoodwink. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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