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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hoodwink
For moviegoers hoping to get hoodwinked, the wait is over.
—
Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 1 May 2025
When Biden badly botched the debate, inflaming fears about his age, donors felt the campaign continued to hoodwink them, despite outwardly expressing their concerns to aides.
—Amie Parnes, The Hill, 24 Feb. 2025
Both lawsuits argue that the news outlets deliberately hoodwinked the public, in violation of state consumer protection laws.
—New York Times, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2025
Haider staged a fake murder in an apparent effort to hoodwink Abbas and his bosses.
—Renee Maltezou, Cassell Bryan-Low, Yannis Souliotis and Phil Stewart, USA TODAY, 6 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hoodwink
Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 1 May 2025
When Biden badly botched the debate, inflaming fears about his age, donors felt the campaign continued to hoodwink them, despite outwardly expressing their concerns to aides.
—Amie Parnes, The Hill, 24 Feb. 2025
Both lawsuits argue that the news outlets deliberately hoodwinked the public, in violation of state consumer protection laws.
—New York Times, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2025
Haider staged a fake murder in an apparent effort to hoodwink Abbas and his bosses.
—Renee Maltezou, Cassell Bryan-Low, Yannis Souliotis and Phil Stewart, USA TODAY, 6 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hoodwink
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoodwink
Verb
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More than 20 children are in the custody of a Southern California child-welfare agency as authorities investigate allegations of child abuse and whether surrogate mothers were deceived by a Los Angeles-area couple.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
17 July 2025
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And then he was wishy-washy, went back and forth, and she was deceived and disappointed by him.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
15 July 2025
Verb
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His impersonation is so convincing that Lu and Shin are initially fooled.—
Allison DeGrushe Published,
EW.com,
14 July 2025
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The Mets couldn’t pick up his slider and were fooled on his changeup.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
13 July 2025
Verb
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Luckily for Marian, much of Bertha’s attention is stolen by the unexpected arrival of her unsophisticated sister; Bertha’s too busy making snide comments and tricking her into wearing nicer gowns to even bother with Marian.—
Andy Swift,
TVLine,
13 July 2025
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The offense is built on outside runs and tricking the defense.—
Ted Nguyen,
New York Times,
8 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hoodwink.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoodwink. Accessed 31 Jul. 2025.
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