humbugging

verb

present participle of humbug
as in fooling
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 humbugging
  1. fooling
  2. tricking
  3. deceiving
  4. kidding
Verb
  • His Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Jessep isn’t fooling anyone with the calculated nonchalance and the propensity for quoting Melville and Shakespeare.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Scammers had been fooling Apple by returning iPhone boxes with the original accessories, internal components, or even the phone itself swapped out.
    — Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of fooling
Verb
  • Elaborate fraud callers using AI chatbots are even tricking people into handing over their life savings, May says.
    — Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 11 Nov. 2026
  • There’s nothing better than tricking a mature buck into pinning his ears back and approaching you, ready for a fight.
    — Derek Horner, Outdoor Life, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of tricking
Verb
  • The first rule of thumb—and a solid piece of advice to live by—is that looks can be deceiving.
    — Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 1 Nov. 2026
  • But looks are deceiving in this case – just like the 3X Plus and 3X before it, the trailer stretches out via three individual telescopic segments that emerge at the push of a button.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of deceiving
Verb
  • The brand wasn’t kidding about its wrinkle resistance, either.
    — Vivien Lee, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But kidding aside, AI used in the right way can make people smarter about their health, more so than most realize.
    — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of kidding
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

humbuggery
humbugging
humbugs
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Humbugging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humbugging. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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