as in fooling
to cause to believe what is untrue
I think we've been hornswoggled by that carnival barker
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hornswoggling
Verb
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Indeed, depth would only get in the way of the plot, which is primarily concerned with fooling you and fooling you again.—
Television Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026 -
Watching Bedard break ankles on a nightly basis like Allen Iverson on skates, attempting one-man rushes most players couldn’t even fathom, fooling elite goaltenders with his patented drag-and-drive release, is exhilarating.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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After the remaining contestants voted out Johnny Weir, Tara Lipinski and Eric Nam, Higgins was blindsided to discover her close ally, Rob Rausch, was deceiving her all along.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
27 Feb. 2026
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Neglecting The Kitchen Sink Your sink may look spick-and-span, but looks can be deceiving.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The peach-plum gradient gown is the creation of Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen, whose high-fantasy sculptural gowns emphasize movement and eye-tricking form, often to gravity-defying effect.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
5 Mar. 2026
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Or, in other words, tricking them by holding up a sign.—
Adam Ismail,
The Drive,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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There are also cool maps on the local prevalence of certain health conditions, from arthritis and asthma to cancer and high cholesterol to diabetes and depression to — not kidding here — where people have lost all their teeth.—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
11 Feb. 2026
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Literally toxic lesbians — kidding.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Hornswoggling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hornswoggling. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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