as in defeating
to get the better of through cleverness
the prisoners outfoxed the guards by tunneling beneath the prison walls
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outfoxing
Verb
-
His Jayhawks went 1-1 at the Big 12 tournament, defeating TCU 78-73 on Thursday before getting clobbered by Houston 69-47 in Friday’s semifinals.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
16 Mar. 2026 -
When Alejandro Bran struck a volley from 24 yards out last week at BMO Stadium, the Costa Rican delivered a lightning strike that LD Alajuelense needed in order to have a chance of defeating the Los Angeles Football Club.—
Josh Gross,
Daily News,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Folktales are filled with people fighting to survive in forests, steppes, and deserts, and evading and outwitting the wild beasts that dwell within them.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Feb. 2026
-
The characters here, though, are nowhere near so smart as those conniving pagans and can only dream of outwitting the sophisticated folk from the mainland, coming there with their talk of cake, and comfy chairs, and their lies.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Invite critiques to maintain humility Nicholas likes to tell his team that loyalty in retail is just the absence of something better, and he is driven by a fear of rivals like Costco outsmarting his business.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Because some of them act like complete idiots, but Wendy is constantly outsmarting everyone.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Strategic Powerhouses These names are inspired by women who lead with their minds, outmaneuvering everyone in the room.—
Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal,
Parents,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Ian Terry won Big Brother season 14 at just 21 years old, becoming the show’s youngest champion after outmaneuvering veteran players with a quiet — but highly calculated — game.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
There are other ballot measure proposals aimed at thwarting the billionaires tax.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
-
In Florida, more and more government agencies are thwarting the public’s right to know, including attempts to hide the details behind Alligator Alcatraz, the temporary immigrant detention center built in the Florida Everglades in June 2025.—
David Cuillier,
The Conversation,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Nope, that's not your eyes deceiving you.—
Christina Perrier,
InStyle,
15 Mar. 2026
-
There is the belief, one expressed by Payton, that free agents can be deceiving.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Ensuring the power supply is reliable, as well as overcoming regulation, will also be key, Hernandez said.—
April Roach,Gaelle Legrand,
CNBC,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Having won the competition set by her late, estranged father Alexandre (Stanley Weber) to determine the heir to his wine empire, Camille Leger (Fleur Geffrier) took an important step toward overcoming Alexandre’s toxic emotional legacy.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But Baio says Kassotis has been fooling people for years.—
Erin Moriarty,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
-
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
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.
Cite this Entry
“Outfoxing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outfoxing. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
