as in deceptions
an act that is used to fool someone
His act was just a clever ruse to get me to go out with him.
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Recent Examples of ruses
Many suspect a spam call and don't pick up the phone, leading foundation staff to sometimes devise ruses.
—
Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 8 Oct. 2025
Episode 4 finds both Ellen and Julia throwing themselves headlong into plans that require them to keep up major ruses.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 22 Aug. 2025
Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 8 Oct. 2025
Episode 4 finds both Ellen and Julia throwing themselves headlong into plans that require them to keep up major ruses.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruses
Noun
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Anoka, Minnesota, began its Halloween celebrations in 1920 to curb destructive pranks by local youths.—
Chris Kenning,
USA Today,
24 Oct. 2025
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But Fleury’s jokes and pranks also kept light-hearted off the ice.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Halloween’s history, from tricks to treats Halloween is rooted in the ancient Celtic ritual of Samhain, marking the harvest and coming winter – and few know the shortcomings of the cold more than Minnesotans.—
Chris Kenning,
USA Today,
24 Oct. 2025
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Critic Dwight Macdonald later wrote that Keaton’s singular screen-in-screen transformation made similar tricks by Surrealist giants Dalí, Buñuel, and Cocteau timid by comparison.—
Erik Morse,
Vogue,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ruses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruses. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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