as in outwitted
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 outsmarted
However, Cena outsmarted him by grabbing the chair, throwing it next to Dom, and pretending to be down on the mat.
—
Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Nov. 2025
Tuchel came to Monaco for a meeting with United’s leaders two weeks after the FA Cup final, in which Ten Hag’s side outsmarted and defeated Manchester City for a momentous win.
—Andy Mitten, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2025
Incensed at being outsmarted, the CEO of Weyland-Yutani (Sandra Yi Sencindive) allows one of her employees, a cyborg with very few scruples named Morrow (Babou Ceesay), to use any means necessary to reacquire the biological specimens.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
This solution also outsmarted existing industry tools like Gurobi on large-scale delivery simulations.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 22 Aug. 2025
Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Nov. 2025
Tuchel came to Monaco for a meeting with United’s leaders two weeks after the FA Cup final, in which Ten Hag’s side outsmarted and defeated Manchester City for a momentous win.
—Andy Mitten, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2025
Incensed at being outsmarted, the CEO of Weyland-Yutani (Sandra Yi Sencindive) allows one of her employees, a cyborg with very few scruples named Morrow (Babou Ceesay), to use any means necessary to reacquire the biological specimens.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
This solution also outsmarted existing industry tools like Gurobi on large-scale delivery simulations.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outsmarted
Verb
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Maduro has in any case outwitted dozens of attempts to depose him over the years.—
Quico Toro,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
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Though Penn State had a key injury with linebacker Tony Rojas sidelined, Knowles was also outwitted by Neuheisel, who only took over the role for the Bruins earlier this week.—
Cameron Teague Robinson,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Houston Texans defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 in the final game of the wild card round of the playoffs on Monday in what might be the end of the Aaron Rodgers era in the NFL.—
Kevin Dotson,
CNN Money,
13 Jan. 2026
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The Panthers were defeated by the Los Angeles Rams, 34-31, on Saturday in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs.—
Mike Kaye
January 13,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Challengers should give Marylanders the option to choose a new direction and remove the need to confront the painful reality that they were deceived.—
Torrey Snow,
Baltimore Sun,
14 Jan. 2026
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Trump told people that Rupert deceived him.—
Gabriel Sherman,
Vanity Fair,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Khamenei also thanked Iranians who participated in Monday’s pro-government rallies, saying the demonstrations thwarted external plots against the country.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
12 Jan. 2026
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The Irvine Police Department arrested two people after officers thwarted a $100,000 handbag heist early Tuesday morning.—
Hunter Sowards,
CBS News,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Heavy doses of match coverage take heavy doses of mental discipline, and the Broncos were outmaneuvered a few too many times by Jacksonville.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
23 Dec. 2025
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Ekman-Larsson was beaten for position in front of the net on the first one and then turned over the puck (and missed on a big neutral zone hit), which led to the second one as his partner, Rielly, was outmaneuvered for position in front of Dennis Hildeby.—
Jonas Siegel,
New York Times,
14 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The first generation of Iranian revolutionaries—including octogenarians like Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—have long fooled themselves about their future.—
Robin Wright,
New Yorker,
13 Jan. 2026
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Don’t be fooled by their jaw-dropping price, the bottoms deliver an expensive look thanks to their dark wash and classic cut.—
Kyra Surgent,
InStyle,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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He was outfoxed, outplayed and frustrated by the calm version of Daniil Medvedev in 2023, and lost in straight sets to Botic van De Zandschulp in the second round last year.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
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No doubt remained that I’d been outfoxed.—
Charles Elliott,
Outdoor Life,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Keldon Johnson had 27 points, Victor Wembanyama added 16 points and 14 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs overcame 38 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists from Luka Doncic to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 107-91 on Wednesday night.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
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In 2017, for instance, prosecutors in Contra Costa overcame an insanity defense by William Shultz, who murdered a 9-year-old Discovery Bay boy during a sleepover and blamed it on a delusion about an impending World War III.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Outsmarted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outsmarted. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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