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
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How to protect yourself from AI phishing scams AI phishing scams rely on tricking people into trusting what looks and sounds real.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Oct. 2025 -
Some have also used the hashtag #homelessman to post their videos, all of which center on the idea of tricking people into believing that there is a stranger inside their home.—
Maura Murphy,
NBC news,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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North Korea, fooling no one, is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.—
John M. Crisp,
Mercury News,
29 Oct. 2025
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The fastball-splitter combo was working well for him again, while his 74 mph curveball was fooling hitters all night as well.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Odysseus, the Ithacan warrior who is as celebrated for craftiness as Achilles is for brute strength, devises a clever ruse in which the Greeks place a giant wooden horse outside Troy’s walls and pretend to sail away.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
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This basement ruse allows the law to be ignored as well as the special zoning requirements for homeless shelters and transitional housing.—
Lou Murray,
Boston Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Gordon warned me that this was deceiving.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
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Santos was sentenced to prison in April after admitting last year to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of 11 people — including his own family members — to make donations to his campaign.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The story then unfolded through the subterfuge of the princess and the care of Morton.—
Simon Perry,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
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Unlike the confrontational drudgery of couples therapy — and aiming to avoid the confrontational finality of divorce — this approach relies on subterfuge.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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As various ancient sources recount, after Achilles is killed by Paris, the Greeks resort to deception.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
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Real war introduces deception, saturation attacks and human failures.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The trickery -- a direct snap in the second quarter to RJ Harvey -- was working.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
26 Oct. 2025
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The fun bit of trickery worked as Hunt gained 3 yards and got the first down.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Night after night the stratagem was repeated successfully.—
Robert Easton,
Outdoor Life,
3 Sep. 2025
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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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Cite this Entry
“Hoodwinking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoodwinking. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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