as in outwitting
to get the better of through cleverness
an inexpensive security system that would likely be outsmarted by anyone with a serious interest in circumventing it
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Recent Examples of outsmarting
Because some of them act like complete idiots, but Wendy is constantly outsmarting everyone.
—
Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Each episode will see the heroes explore new lands — from glittering mining mountains to secret vault cities — solving puzzles, cracking codes and outsmarting digital bandits along the way.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2025
Much of the pleasure of John Lee Hancock’s marginal thriller comes in the familiar sight of Washington outsmarting those around him and projecting a weary grandeur that suggests all the horrors this man has seen on the job.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Each episode will see the heroes explore new lands — from glittering mining mountains to secret vault cities — solving puzzles, cracking codes and outsmarting digital bandits along the way.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2025
Much of the pleasure of John Lee Hancock’s marginal thriller comes in the familiar sight of Washington outsmarting those around him and projecting a weary grandeur that suggests all the horrors this man has seen on the job.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outsmarting
Verb
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Ben Shapiro, Pete Buttigieg, Michael Knowles, Alex O’Connor—these are professional debaters capable of outwitting and outreasoning almost any audience member unfamiliar with traditional debate techniques, regardless of the topic or claim being considered.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The Mariners reached this year’s ALCS off the back of the longest winner-takes-all playoff game in MLB history on Friday, dramatically defeating the Detroit Tigers 3-2 in a four-hour, 58-minute contest.—
George Ramsay,
CNN Money,
13 Oct. 2025
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Alabama continued its rebound from a Week 1 loss by defeating Missouri.—
Erick Smith,
USA Today,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In the decades that followed, Freeman, who died in 2025, assembled a vast array of literary fakes, collecting books whose content is deceiving in nature.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
13 Oct. 2025
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Two culinary pros gave us the real scoop about how certain vanilla bean ice creams have been deceiving us all these years.—
Karla Walsh,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Kalkbrenner showed off his ability to be a paint presence, thwarting one second-half dunk attempt, and displayed some of the flashes that had his teammates and the coaching staff talking him up throughout the Hornets’ six days in the Lowcountry.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Oct. 2025
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There had already been one major let-off with Alisson thwarting Yilmaz, who had got in behind the makeshift right-back too easily.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Relay is a smart, small-scale espionage film focused on operatives outmaneuvering one another.—
Scott Phillips,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The other notable incident of the first half was one person overcoming the tight security measures to reach the pitch.—
Philip Buckingham,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
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Leaper Williams, a Lawrence High graduate who started working at KU at 16, emerged as one of KU football’s most recognizable employees through the years, overcoming a development impairment due to anoxia, a lack of oxygen to the brain, at birth.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Only, Brown isn’t fooling himself.—
Janis Carr,
Oc Register,
13 Oct. 2025
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Instead of fooling millions of people individually, attackers need only to compromise one AI model to reach millions at once.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
20 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Outsmarting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outsmarting. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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