outwitting

verb

present participle of outwit
as in outsmarting
to get the better of through cleverness a plan to outwit their opponents at their own game

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 outwitting Similar storm-clouds are now gathering around Sánchez, a canny politician known for outwitting his opponents. — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 21 June 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outwitting
  1. outsmarting
  2. defeating
  3. thwarting
  4. deceiving
  5. outmaneuvering
  6. overcoming
  7. fooling
Verb
  • The problem, according to Hinton, is that humans will no longer be able to rely on outsmarting super-intelligent AI models.
    — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The Fan, the season-long unsub obsessed with one-upping and outsmarting his idol.
    — Joyce Eng, Entertainment Weekly, 23 July 2026
Definition of outsmarting
Verb
  • The Minnesota Twins are also two games back after defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6 on Friday.
    — LaMond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2026
  • But the technology for defeating ballistic missiles has advanced significantly since the Cold War.
    — Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of defeating
Verb
  • The potential signing has divided Barça fans, weighing midfield depth and Rodri's age against acquiring an elite World Cup winner and thwarting rivals.
    — Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Some blame the Big Ten and SEC for thwarting the legislation.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 20 July 2026
Definition of thwarting
Verb
  • Paul has long accused Fauci of deceiving Americans about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    — Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 29 July 2026
  • The ensuing investigation ultimately revealed that Angela had framed Hadley and uncovered evidence of her long history of deceiving people to gain sympathy.
    — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 23 July 2026
Definition of deceiving
Verb
  • May built one of the most dominant teams in Big Ten history by outmaneuvering his peers in the transfer portal.
    — Austin Meek, New York Times, 30 June 2026
  • Two generals agreed with Ashley's characterization, stressing the view that on the front lines, Ukraine was outmaneuvering Russia.
    — Aidan Stretch, CBS News, 9 June 2026
Definition of outmaneuvering
Verb
  • Beyond his fighting career, McGee is celebrated for his inspirational journey of overcoming drug addiction, having been sober for over two decades.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • But he’ll best be known for overcoming a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, suffered in 1974.
    — David K. Li, NBC news, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of overcoming
Verb
  • Throughout all the commotion, Romelu Lukaku acted as decoy, holding on to the ball, fooling everyone, including the TV producer, who pulled up a graphic showing his recent penalty record.
    — Geir Jordet, New York Times, 15 July 2026
  • Speaking on Harvard Business School’s The Founder Mindset podcast, hosted by senior lecturer and serial entrepreneur Reza Satchu, the Shark Tank investor argued that anyone trying to balance a young company against the rest of their life is fooling themselves.
    — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 17 June 2026
Definition of fooling

Browse Nearby Words

outwitted
outwitting
outwore
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Outwitting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outwitting. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on outwitting

Nglish: Translation of outwitting for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gnomic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

'Gaslighting,' 'Woke,' 'Democracy,' and Other Top Lookups
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All