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
Instead of drafting franchise cornerstones in JaMarr Chase or Penei Sewell, ex-GM Chris Grier outsmarted himself.
—
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2026
The struggle resonated with parents on Reddit, many of whom admitted they have been outsmarted by their own baby gear.
—Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 1 Apr. 2026
In each of these cases, a tech company outsmarted a human—or several—either by producing text convincing enough to pass the smell test, or by creating and marketing a service that convinced a writer to offload part of their labor.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
He gets outsmarted by Forst and trapped in a symbiotic relationship where has to work for the world’s worst man to see his discovery come to fruition.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2026
However, ancient mythology is filled with examples of crafty foxes being outsmarted by their own traps.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 20 Jan. 2026
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
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2026
The struggle resonated with parents on Reddit, many of whom admitted they have been outsmarted by their own baby gear.
—Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 1 Apr. 2026
In each of these cases, a tech company outsmarted a human—or several—either by producing text convincing enough to pass the smell test, or by creating and marketing a service that convinced a writer to offload part of their labor.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
He gets outsmarted by Forst and trapped in a symbiotic relationship where has to work for the world’s worst man to see his discovery come to fruition.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2026
However, ancient mythology is filled with examples of crafty foxes being outsmarted by their own traps.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 20 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outsmarted
Verb
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Towering over the town is another, much bigger, Venetian fort, the Palamidhi (named after Palamedes, Nafplio’s legendarily clever local hero, who outwitted Odysseus and, well, didn’t live long enough to regret it).—
Helen Brown,
TheWeek,
30 Apr. 2026
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Twenty-six years ago, students treated a visit by then-President Bill Clinton as a challenge, and outwitted the Secret Service by secretly rigging a banner to unfurl at an inopportune moment.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Once fierce rivals, the two men were responsible for the country’s first peaceful transfer of power between parties, after Jefferson and his Democratic-Republican Party defeated Adams and the Federalists in the election of 1800.—
Jelani Cobb,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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Disable my adblockerContinue without disabling Contact support|We're using DeVaux’s dream was realized in large part due to jockey Jose Ortiz, who defeated his own brother — who was on top of Renegade — for the win.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC news,
3 May 2026
Verb
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But some were also deceived or coerced.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
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Musk, who had donated at least $38 million to the lab, wanted to be CEO and gain majority control, but felt deceived after a power struggle with Altman over the role.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Earlier, in 1983, a plot by the IRA to bomb a Duran Duran concert at the Dominion Theatre with the intention of targeting then Prince Charles and Princess Diana was thwarted.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
30 Apr. 2026
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ plans to upend childhood vaccination requirements continues to be thwarted by his fellow Republicans.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Soon, the European LNGs might find themselves being outmaneuvered by others, such as China.—
Ike Brannon,
Fortune,
29 Apr. 2026
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Beyond Curaçao, regulators have largely fumbled in their efforts to rein in the offshore casino sector, outmaneuvered by nimble operators who exploit the gap between national laws and enforcement power.—
Cecilia D'Anastasio,
Bloomberg,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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However, don’t be fooled by the budget price.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
1 May 2026
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Her family had extensive dealings with DCF and reportedly fooled caseworkers by having someone else pretend to be Mimi during a video call to check on her welfare.—
Kaitlin McCallum,
Hartford Courant,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Liv Morgan begged for a tag, but she was outfoxed by a blind tag from Rhea Ripley.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
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No doubt remained that I’d been outfoxed.—
Charles Elliott,
Outdoor Life,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The East’s top seed overcame a 3-1 series deficit and a 24-point road deficit during Game 6 in a memorable series comeback.—
Scott Phillips,
New York Times,
4 May 2026
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Michael Massey scored on Maikel Garcia's sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, and the Kansas City Royals overcame a dominant 14-strikeout performance from Seattle starter Emerson Hancock to beat the Mariners 3-2 on Saturday night.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Outsmarted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outsmarted. Accessed 6 May. 2026.
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