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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of outsmart
The bottom line: Retail traders seem to have outsmarted the smart money yet again.
—
Felix Salmon, Axios, 28 Jan. 2025
What her realization results in is a nearly 25-minute fight scene in the finale between Joe and Louise that ends with Louise outsmarting Joe at his own game and locking him up forever.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 24 Apr. 2025
The trio must tag team to outsmart a cunning international thief and save a priceless diamond gauntlet — just in time for Christmas.
—Brian Welk, IndieWire, 15 Apr. 2025
Punk and Rollins brawled, and the brawl ended when Rollins outsmarted Punk and hit him with a Stomp.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for outsmart
Felix Salmon, Axios, 28 Jan. 2025
What her realization results in is a nearly 25-minute fight scene in the finale between Joe and Louise that ends with Louise outsmarting Joe at his own game and locking him up forever.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 24 Apr. 2025
The trio must tag team to outsmart a cunning international thief and save a priceless diamond gauntlet — just in time for Christmas.
—Brian Welk, IndieWire, 15 Apr. 2025
Punk and Rollins brawled, and the brawl ended when Rollins outsmarted Punk and hit him with a Stomp.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for outsmart
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outsmart
Verb
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How Serena managed to outwit her Secret Service agents and end up on the late night news shows vexes Sutton, who’s trying to maintain a flawless and relatively low-key reputation as the first Black woman president of the North American nation.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2025
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Their ultimate goal is to outwit, outplay, and outlast.—
Katie Decker-Jacoby,
StyleCaster,
12 Mar. 2025
Verb
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After a strikeout, Luis Castillo hit a foul fly that Moises Alou jumped for, only to have his efforts thwarted by a fan making a play on the ball himself.—
Steve Svekis,
Sun Sentinel,
18 May 2025
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Messi twice nearly broke the tie in extra time, only to be thwarted by defender Daniel Munie and goalkeeper Daniel.—
Cam Inman,
Mercury News,
16 May 2025
Verb
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That hasn’t stopped Liverpool using him to distract and deceive opponents when free kicks are won, however.—
Gregg Evans,
New York Times,
8 May 2025
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She was also found guilty of deceiving other officials about the man's identity.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 May 2025
Verb
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The moment transpired seven months after the Liberty defeated the Minessota Lynx in a riveting five-game WNBA Finals.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
18 May 2025
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But 19 months after the war in Gaza began, Israel has failed to either defeat Hamas or free all of the captives.—
Aaron Boxerman,
New York Times,
17 May 2025
Verb
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Yet amid the devastation, a few glimmers of hope remain—Palestine’s U-20 national women’s team recently won the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Championship, overcoming Jordan 4-2 in a penalty shootout in the final following a 1-1 draw.—
Samindra Kunti,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2025
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During a stretch in which the Twins are outscoring opponents 68-29, the team is receiving contributions from just about everyone on the roster while concurrently overcoming the mounting injuries.—
Dan Hayes,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
Verb
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Rohit's captaincy was also in the gun, outfoxed tactically by opposite number Pat Cummins.—
Tristan Lavalette,
Forbes.com,
8 May 2025
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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
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Don’t let the name fool you: Apple TV+’s new science-fiction series Murderbot isn’t actually about a rampaging robot killing everything in sight, though Alexander Skarsgard’s SecUnit certainly ponders the idea from time to time.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
12 May 2025
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One common jailbreak involved fooling ChatGPT by asking it to role-play as a different AI—one that had no rules and was allowed to write phishing e-mails.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
7 May 2025
Verb
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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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Perhaps the shape rotators are convinced that computers can outthink us because their own minds are so impoverished.—
Becca Rothfeld,
Washington Post,
26 June 2024
Cite this Entry
“Outsmart.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outsmart. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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