humbugged

verb

past tense of humbug
as in deceived
to cause to believe what is untrue humbugged into believing that the bones were the skeleton of a prehistoric human being

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for humbugged
  1. deceived
  2. tricked
  3. fooled
Verb
  • In an era when AI generates convincing falsehoods at scale and a third of teenagers report being deceived by fake content online, the ability to weigh evidence critically is not an academic exercise but a plain necessity.
    — Rajiv Vinnakota, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
  • Andreas Schjelderup opened the scoring with a spectacular cross-shot that deceived Jordan Pickford and, although Jude Bellingham struck back for England in first-half stoppage time, Norway looked the more likely winners as the second period wore on.
    — Oliver Kay, New York Times, 12 July 2026
Definition of deceived
Verb
  • Ricky Saints tricked the referee into thinking Lil Yachty used the kendo stick on him, and after traveling all the way to Riyadh, Yachty was tossed out just minutes into the match.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 27 June 2026
  • While the war ended years before, the hostility spread from the stands — with skirmishes among supporters — into the field, when Maradona tricked the referee and the world with the World Cup’s most infamous goal, punching the ball into the net with his fist above England’s goalie Peter Shilton.
    — Gabriel Sama, Mercury News, 21 June 2026
Definition of tricked
Verb
  • OpenAI's Atlas was once fooled into sending a resignation letter, and Perplexity's Comet exposed user data in tests.
    — Robert J. Szczerba, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • You may be fooled into joining a brokerage with high fees, poor investment options or other red flags.
    — Dan Avery, CNBC, 17 July 2026
Definition of fooled
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

humbug
humbugged
humbuggery
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Cite this Entry

“Humbugged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humbugged. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

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