ruse

Synonym Chooser

How is the word ruse different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of ruse are artifice, feint, maneuver, stratagem, trick, and wile. While all these words mean "an indirect means to gain an end," ruse stresses an attempt to mislead by a false impression.

the ruses of smugglers

When would artifice be a good substitute for ruse?

The meanings of artifice and ruse largely overlap; however, artifice implies ingenious contrivance or invention.

the clever artifices of the stage

When is it sensible to use feint instead of ruse?

While in some cases nearly identical to ruse, feint implies a diversion or distraction of attention away from one's real intent.

a feint toward the enemy's left flank

When might maneuver be a better fit than ruse?

In some situations, the words maneuver and ruse are roughly equivalent. However, maneuver suggests adroit and skillful avoidance of difficulty.

last-minute maneuvers to avert bankruptcy

When can stratagem be used instead of ruse?

The synonyms stratagem and ruse are sometimes interchangeable, but stratagem implies a ruse used to entrap, outwit, circumvent, or surprise an opponent or enemy.

the stratagem-filled game

When could trick be used to replace ruse?

The words trick and ruse can be used in similar contexts, but trick may imply deception, roguishness, illusion, and either an evil or harmless end.

the tricks of the trade

When is wile a more appropriate choice than ruse?

Although the words wile and ruse have much in common, wile suggests an attempt to entrap or deceive with false allurements.

used all of his wiles to ingratiate himself

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 ruse But this ruse is like the broader trans movement itself, which obliges you to deny the evidence dangling before your own eyes. The Editors, National Review, 4 June 2025 Unless this is all an elaborate ruse concocted by none other than Ainsley in her quest for world domination. Dalton Ross, EW.com, 14 May 2025 The Republicans’ billionaire populism has always been a ruse. Jim Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 June 2025 When Jonny and Dan were alone at camp, the two friends revealed that the entire story was a ruse! Nick Caruso, TVLine, 30 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for ruse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruse
Noun
  • Blending real tour footage, a faux biopic, a tongue-in-cheek jukebox musical and a museum filled with half-fake relics, the film is part tribute, part Gen X time capsule, part absurdist prank.
    Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
  • Anna stages a prank that is just supposed to scare Willow, but the plan collides with the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, and ends with Willow’s disappearance.
    Lizz Schumer, People.com, 24 June 2025
Noun
  • This deception couldn’t come at a worse time for America’s debt.
    Thomas Kahn, Chicago Tribune, 8 July 2025
  • Unlike earlier studies that uncovered evasion or deception, this research exposed a more alarming phenomenon: models calculating that unethical behavior was a justifiable strategy for survival.
    Hamilton Mann, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025
Noun
  • One trick to capture slugs is to lay a board down next to a row crop and check the underside in the morning to gather the slugs.
    Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 July 2025
  • Did any of those tips and tricks come in handy here?
    Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 5 July 2025
Noun
  • The facility had been subject to sabotage and subterfuge by Israel for many years even before these attacks–including a computer virus that wrecked the centrifuges over a decade ago.
    Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 26 June 2025
  • When the magazine writer Dylan (Daryl Wein) and his girlfriend and photographer, Lucy (Abigail Cowen), descend upon the rocker Milo (Jack Farthing), there’s subterfuge afoot.
    Lisa Kennedy, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Noun
  • For people like Soriano, however, the elections are about more than political stratagem and determining which family holds the most nominal power.
    Chad de Guzman, Time, 13 May 2025
  • The scene is straight out of a stratagem by Pier Paolo Pasolini (Bertolucci’s mentor), but Palud takes it literally without applying comparable ideological critique to the rest of her film.
    Armond White, National Review, 28 Mar. 2025

Cite this Entry

“Ruse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruse. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on ruse

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