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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in fooling
Related Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoodwinking
Verb
-
James cuts back inside onto his right foot, fooling the defender, rather than going to the byline off his left foot.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025 -
Each plays a role in fooling their foe, who captures the turtle, while the deer, heeding the turtle’s good counsel, manages a sly escape.—
John Nemec,
The Conversation,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The police investigation that followed included surveillance and a ruse where investigators answered local prostitution ads and were directed to the home.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
16 June 2025
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But this ruse is like the broader trans movement itself, which obliges you to deny the evidence dangling before your own eyes.—
The Editors,
National Review,
4 June 2025
Verb
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The show, hosted by actor Alan Cumming and set in a remote Scottish castle, features reality TV veterans and celebrities working together—and often deceiving each other—in challenges for a cash prize.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Appearances, though, can be deceiving.—
Bob Harkins,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The facility had been subject to sabotage and subterfuge by Israel for many years even before these attacks–including a computer virus that wrecked the centrifuges over a decade ago.—
Geoff Brumfiel,
NPR,
26 June 2025
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When the magazine writer Dylan (Daryl Wein) and his girlfriend and photographer, Lucy (Abigail Cowen), descend upon the rocker Milo (Jack Farthing), there’s subterfuge afoot.—
Lisa Kennedy,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
Noun
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This stylization gives her a veneer of being disarmingly kind; but ultimately, is a form of deception that caused Sophie to fatally trust this person.—
Tiffany Leigh,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
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Codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, the overnight mission relied on deception, aerial refueling, and near-total radio silence to hit Iran's Fordo and Natanz enrichment facilities—sites that had withstood weeks of sustained Israeli attacks.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 June 2025
Noun
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That trickery only works when the players understand the layers of the system on a detailed level.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
21 June 2025
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This trickery is a cost-saving measure in that the orchid does not have to manufacture nectar or prodigious amounts of expensive pollen.—
The San Diego Union Tribune,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 June 2025
Noun
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For people like Soriano, however, the elections are about more than political stratagem and determining which family holds the most nominal power.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
13 May 2025
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The scene is straight out of a stratagem by Pier Paolo Pasolini (Bertolucci’s mentor), but Palud takes it literally without applying comparable ideological critique to the rest of her film.—
Armond White,
National Review,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But the level of deceit of this entire plan is mind-boggling.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 June 2025
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The defense’s case largely rests on accusations that the investigation into O’Keefe’s death was mired by deceit, incompetence and bias.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
10 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Hoodwinking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoodwinking. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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