Synonyms of hoodwink

hoodwink

verb

ˈhu̇d-ˌwiŋk 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deceive
• fool
• trick
• mislead
• delude
• bamboozle
• misinform
• dupe
• misguide
• beguile
• tease
• hornswoggle
• cozen
• bluff
• kid
• con
• juggle
• hoax
• sucker
• cheat
• humbug
• gull
• spoof
• catch
• buffalo
• string along
• sting
• gaff
• suck in
• have
• have on
• gammon
• snow
• burn
• take in
• lead one down the garden path
• snooker
• fake out
• pull one's leg
• do a number on
• defraud
• pull the wool over one's eyes
• swindle
• shortchange
• stick
• flimflam
• put on
• mulct
• diddle
• fleece
• euchre
• chisel
• hustle
• bleed
• squeeze
• skin
• rook

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• expose
• undeceive
• reveal
• unmask
• uncover
• debunk
• tell
• disclose
• show up
• divulge
• unveil
• disabuse
• uncloak
• disillusion
• disenchant

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of hoodwink

There’s no argument that somehow people were hoodwinked or didn’t know what was in the contract. — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026

Public health often responds that MAHA supporters like Elizabeth, Melinda, and Nancy have been hoodwinked by social media influencers, grifters, and anti-vaccine zealots. — Tom W. Johnson, STAT, 26 Jan. 2026

Invited to provide his thoughts on this, Arbeloa stressed he won’t be hoodwinked. — Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 17 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

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