as in to outwit
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of outsmart So long as Sean McVay’s football obsession doesn’t burn him out, the Rams can outsmart most NFL teams. Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 May 2025 But occasionally, a bear outsmarts us or overcomes our defenses. Sarah Lynch Baldwin, CBS News, 19 May 2025 Think about that for a moment, machines outsmarting and being cleverer than humans. Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 May 2025 Sunday outsmarted Adam and Hannah with a ruse at Tribal Council. Dalton Ross, EW.com, 15 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for outsmart
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outsmart
Verb
  • When betrayal strikes from within, the team must outwit overwhelming odds to survive and escape.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 June 2025
  • But Black Bag is electrifying, with Soderbergh operating in his God mode — portraying highly competent people attempting to outwit one another in beautiful clothes, the light practically bending to their beauty and banter.
    Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Bill Daly is a former FBI investigator who worked to thwart terror attacks and dealt with foreign counterintelligence.
    Peter D'Abrosca , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 23 June 2025
  • Nena Farrell The Best Bike Locks and Ebike Locks Our favorite bike locks for every ride, including new locks designed to thwart angle grinders.
    Parker Hall, Wired News, 21 June 2025
Verb
  • Notably, 40 percent acknowledged faking activity to deceive monitoring systems, suggesting a struggle to maintain consistent performance outside traditional office settings.
    Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 June 2025
  • So there’s an interesting, dark comedy element to people that are deceiving themselves.
    Mark Hughes, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
Verb
  • Leon made the team, and Canada went on to defeat Sweden in penalty kicks for the country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in women’s soccer.
    Fernando Ramirez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 June 2025
  • Mullins defeated Zhelezniakova via TKO in 2022 on an Ares card.
    Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 21 June 2025
Verb
  • The Thunder overcame two Game 7s en route to the title, and they will now forever be called champions.
    Matt Levine, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 June 2025
  • Advertisement Indiana tried its best to overcome heartbreak in Game 7: Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers’ star point guard who was playing with a calf strain in his right leg, suffered an achilles injury in the first quarter.
    Sean Gregory, Time, 23 June 2025
Verb
  • Rohit's captaincy was also in the gun, outfoxed tactically by opposite number Pat Cummins.
    Tristan Lavalette, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
  • In the most iconic scene, he gets outfoxed on the subway by the French drug lord on a subway, playing cat-and-mouse on the platform.
    Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Even though baby clothes and newborn diapers feel too tiny to wreak havoc, don’t be fooled!
    Briana Feigon, Architectural Digest, 19 June 2025
  • Perhaps that’s what fans were griping about last year — that Burns didn’t have it anymore and Slavin was papering over all those issues, enough to fool this model.
    Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 18 June 2025
Verb
  • Either way, in a world where everything can be faked — intelligence, emotion, even purpose — the real danger isn’t that AI will outthink us.
    Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
  • And if this isn’t an isolated incident, then this presents a huge problem for the remnants of humanity, most of whom have survived through a mixture of luck and simply being able to outthink these single-minded creatures.
    Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 13 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Outsmart.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outsmart. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.

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