Synonyms of plucking

plucking

verb

present participle of pluck

as in squeezing

to rob by the use of trickery or threats

the Internet opened up a whole new medium for con artists to pluck the gullible

Synonyms & Similar Words

• squeezing
• stinging
• hustling
• cheating
• sticking
• beating
• screwing
• doing
• bleeding
• fiddling
• fleecing
• chiseling
• suckering
• reaming
• tricking
• swindling
• victimizing
• deceiving
• diddling
• shorting
• defrauding
• exploiting
• skinning
• rooking
• gaffing
• bilking
• mulcting
• conning
• shortchanging
• shaking down
• hosing
• cozening
• clipping
• ripping off
• stiffing
• fooling
• nobbling
• betraying
• flimflamming
• euchring
• doing in
• thimblerigging
• wrenching
• chousing
• taking for a ride
• extorting
• wringing
• nicking
• gouging
• taking to the cleaners
• soaking
• skunking
• milking
• wresting
• selling a bill of goods to
• overcharging
• gulling
• duping
• bitching
• double-crossing
• roping (in)
• bamboozling
• fast-talking

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of plucking

LLMs are great at finding blowups that exist—at searching the infinite landscape of fluid scenarios and plucking out the precise situation that breaks the equations. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2026

Fortunately, many dahlia insect problems in September can be solved by walking through the garden in the morning and plucking the offending insects off the plants by hand, then dropping them into a container of soapy water. — Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Sep. 2026

Weiss has been reworking CBS News’ broadcast lineup, plucking Tony Dokoupil from the program for the Evening News slot, and most recently overhauling 60 Minutes under new executive producer Nick Bilton. — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026

The streamer has found its leading lady for the biopic, plucking an unknown first-timer to play the sertanejo icon. — Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026

Dramatic photos taken from the scene show a firefighter on a tower ladder plucking a panicked child from a fire escape. — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2026

Now, Yupia appears on Khramov’s debut album, where the horse literally makes music by strumming guitars with his nose and plucking strings with his teeth. — Maddie Rhodes, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026

Behind a huge picture window, a group of women in black caps were plucking bones from anchovies one by one with tweezers. — Simon Willis, Travel + Leisure, 4 Aug. 2026

Alix Earle, and her younger sister Ashtin, have given the skinny brow trend their own proverbial thumbs up, plucking away their natural shape over the last year. — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 27 July 2026