as in outsmarting
to get the better of through cleverness
a plan to outwit their opponents at their own game
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Recent Examples of outwitting
Bob Markle was good at outwitting violators.
—
Dave Duffey, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026
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, 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
Time and Numbers—there’s no outwitting them.
—Joy Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Ben Shapiro, Pete Buttigieg, Michael Knowles, Alex O’Connor—these are professional debaters capable of outwitting and outreasoning almost any audience member unfamiliar with traditional debate techniques, regardless of the topic or claim being considered.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2025
Dave Duffey, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026
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, 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
Time and Numbers—there’s no outwitting them.
—Joy Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Ben Shapiro, Pete Buttigieg, Michael Knowles, Alex O’Connor—these are professional debaters capable of outwitting and outreasoning almost any audience member unfamiliar with traditional debate techniques, regardless of the topic or claim being considered.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outwitting
Verb
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Not for the faint-hearted, but catnip for that certain type who’s made a fortune by outsmarting competing hedge fund managers or private equity firms.—
Andrés Martinez,
Fortune,
2 Apr. 2026
-
There’s no outsmarting capitalism.—
Kyle Cheromcha,
The Drive,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Trump has not endorsed a candidate, raising the likelihood of a June 16 runoff that would burn more time and money before the party can focus on defeating Ossoff.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 May 2026
-
Darby Allin defended his AEW World Championship twice in one week, defeating Konosuke Takeshita and Sammy Guevara.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Israel says its strikes are aimed at thwarting attempts by Hamas and other Palestinian militants to stage attacks against its forces.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
7 May 2026
-
Frey unleashed his five-pitch arsenal, thwarting the Spartans most of the way.—
Paul Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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He was also accused of deceiving escrow agents to secure the release of pre-construction condominium deposits and then misappropriated those funds for personal expenses unrelated to the developments.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
15 May 2026
-
Donovan Mitchell, whose box score of 21 points was deceiving, dribbled aimlessly while being hounded by Detroit defenders until his weak shot attempt was easily knocked away by Ausar Thompson before time expired.—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
14 May 2026
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
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The Louisiana native told me that overcoming his native cuisine was half the battle in that redshirt year.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
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The biggest obstacle was overcoming low expectations.—
Zoya Hasan,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
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After killing Minnesota’s first power play, the Avalanche opened the scoring when defenseman Sam Malinski scored his first career playoff goal, fooling Wallstedt with a rising wrist shot.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
4 May 2026
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But anyone in the auto industry who didn’t feel like something was going to happen in China five years ago was fooling themselves.—
Jamie Lincoln Kitman,
Rolling Stone,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Outwitting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outwitting. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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