as in tricked
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 hoodwinked
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
Headline-grabbing cases of apparent fraud at companies like Carriox (which allegedly misled its private-credit lenders) and auto lender Tricolor (where banks got hoodwinked) show there’s plenty of blame to go around.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 2 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
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
However, for your sign, money and possessions are where you might be hoodwinked or not realize what’s going on.
—Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 23 Sep. 2025
Approved by voters hoodwinked by false cost estimates, the project was supposed to be operable by 2020 at a cost of $33 billion.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025
Adam Crafton, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Headline-grabbing cases of apparent fraud at companies like Carriox (which allegedly misled its private-credit lenders) and auto lender Tricolor (where banks got hoodwinked) show there’s plenty of blame to go around.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 2 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
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
However, for your sign, money and possessions are where you might be hoodwinked or not realize what’s going on.
—Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 23 Sep. 2025
Approved by voters hoodwinked by false cost estimates, the project was supposed to be operable by 2020 at a cost of $33 billion.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoodwinked
Verb
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From around January to June 2022, the couple tricked unknowing subordinates into adding fake vendors to the company's system, officials said.—
Dan Raby,
CBS News,
19 Mar. 2026
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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
Verb
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Klipsch Austin Portable Bluetooth Speaker Deal Don't be deceived by the small Klipsch Austin portable speaker.—
George Yang,
PC Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
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Svetlana Petriychuk wrote the play Finist, the Brave Falcon, based on real events, about Russian women deceived into marrying ISIS fighters and traveling to Syria.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The viral claim has been confirmed as satire by both local law enforcement and independent fact-checkers — but before the truth caught up, the story had already reached countless feeds and fooled plenty of readers along the way.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
17 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
Cite this Entry
“Hoodwinked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoodwinked. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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