as in fooling
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as in tricking
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of hoodwinking
David Greising, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Verb
Stadiums are notorious for their lack of multiplier impact, which is one reason these days why sports team owners, such as the McCaskey family that controls the Bears, have such a hard time hoodwinking governments into giving them direct subsidies to build their stadiums.
—David Greising, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoodwinking
Noun
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No fooling, April brings some pretty interesting surprises on Netflix.—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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This method involves tricking an employee or person with elevated access into giving up their password.—
Marybel Rodriguez,
CBS News,
9 May 2026
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Instead of acting independently, the forces influence one another to amplify the ion’s motion, thereby tricking the system into generating a much stronger, more complex interaction than either force could achieve alone.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
1 May 2026
Noun
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However, the latter is revealed to be a ruse on the part of the trickster god.—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
6 May 2026
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While sustaining the ruse for months, Ale arranged with an expectant young mother who didn’t want her child to take that woman’s newborn as her own.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Her The Wife nods and supports, all knowingly without deceiving the emotional truths of the narrative.—
Chris Feil,
Vulture,
1 May 2026
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Swalwell apparently did an excellent job deceiving those around him, including some congressional and campaign staffers who’d known him for years and worked closely with the seven-term lawmaker, day in, day out.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Whether those suspicions were valid or a result of subterfuge by Connelly, the Nuggets ultimately traded up six spots to draft Holmes, sacrificing three future second-round picks.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Including some subterfuge in this case.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Fascist propaganda works by distraction and deception.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Apr. 2026
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Meanwhile, Flores must continue to utilize deception to apply pressure on the opposing quarterback.—
Alec Lewis,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
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That was about trickery in a tight situation.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2026
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Obviously, the city knew that people would see through its trickery.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Photograph by Glen Wilson / Lionsgate Fuqua’s low-key approach is both a natural expression of his personality and a shrewd stratagem to reassure people around him that everything is under control.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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There are some other fun stats in there, including a ranking of the game's most popular stratagems.—
Ian Stokes,
Space.com,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hoodwinking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoodwinking. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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