Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Thesaurus

trick

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of trick

1 a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
  • her husband used every trick in the book to get out of appearing in his parish's fashion show
Synonyms of trick

artifice, device, dodge, fetch, flimflam, gambit, gimmick, jig, juggle, knack, play, ploy, ruse, scheme, shenanigan, sleight, stratagem, wile
Words Related to trick

bluff, end run, feint

cheating, chicanery, cozenage, craft, crookery, cunning, deception, dupery, duplicity, fakery, jugglery, legerdemain, skulduggery (or skullduggery), subterfuge, swindling, trickery

fraud, gaff, hoax, sham, swindle

blind, front, smoke screen
Phrases Synonymous with trick

sleight of hand
2 a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke
  • thought that gluing the silver dollar to the floor and watching him struggle to pick it up would be a good trick
Synonyms of trick

antic, caper, capriccio, dido, escapade, frolic, gag, jest, knavery, monkeyshine(s), practical joke, prank, rag [chiefly British], roguery, shavie [Scottish], shine(s), waggery
Words Related to trick

skylarking

adventure, experience, game, lark, time

high jinks (also hijinks), horseplay, play, roughhousing, rowdyism

shenanigan(s), tomfoolery

joking, kidding, teasing

gambit, hoax, maneuver, ploy

deed, feat, mission, performance, stunt

caprice, conceit, fancy, vagary, whim, whimsy (also whimsey)

deceit, deception, delusion, fooling, fraud, hanky-panky, hoodwinking, ruse, sham, stratagem, subterfuge, trickery, wile
3 a usual manner of behaving or doing
  • that deadbeat is up to his usual tricks: once again he's claiming the check is in the mail
Synonyms of trick

custom, fashion, habit, habitude, pattern, practice (also practise), ritual, second nature, way, wont
Words Related to trick

addiction

disposition

bent, inclination, proclivity, set, tendency, tenor, turn

bag, convention, form, mode, style

usage, use

deportment, manners, mores

drill, groove, jog trot, regime (also régime), regimen, rote, routine, rut

affectation, airs, pose

attribute, characteristic, mark, trait

eccentricity, kink, oddity, peculiarity, quirk, singularity, tic
4 an act of notable skill, strength, or cleverness
  • itʼd be quite a trick to hit that target from here
Synonyms of trick

deed, exploit, feat, number, stunt, tour de force
Words Related to trick

accomplishment, achievement, attainment, coup, success, triumph

adventure

performance
5 an odd or peculiar habit
  • a dog with the trick of eating cabbage
Synonyms of trick

crotchet, curiosity, eccentricity, erraticism, idiosyncrasy, individualism, kink, mannerism, oddity, peculiarity, quiddity, quip, quirk, singularity, tic, twist
Words Related to trick

affectation, airs

attribute, characteristic, mark, property, trait

custom, habit, pattern, practice (also practise), way, wont

addiction

abnormality, neuroticism, perversion, weirdness

disposition, genius, leaning, partiality

bent, inclination, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, propensity, tendency, turn

attitude, character, humor, identity, individuality, nature, personality, temperament
Near Antonyms of trick

conformity, sameness

Synonym Discussion of trick

trick, ruse, stratagem, maneuver, artifice, wile, feint mean an indirect means to gain an end. trick may imply deception, roguishness, illusion, and either an evil or harmless end.
    • the tricks of the trade
ruse stresses an attempt to mislead by a false impression.
    • the ruses of smugglers
stratagem implies a ruse used to entrap, outwit, circumvent, or surprise an opponent or enemy.
    • the stratagem-filled game
maneuver suggests adroit and skillful avoidance of difficulty.
    • last-minute maneuvers to avert bankruptcy
artifice implies ingenious contrivance or invention.
    • the clever artifices of the stage
wile suggests an attempt to entrap or deceive with false allurements.
    • used all of his wiles to ingratiate himself
feint implies a diversion or distraction of attention away from one's real intent.
    • a feint toward the enemy's left flank

trick

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of trick

to cause to believe what is untrue
  • you tricked me into thinking my ex wasn't coming to the party tonight
Synonyms of trick

bamboozle, beguile, bluff, buffalo, burn, catch, con, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fake out, fool, gaff, gammon, gull, have, have on [chiefly British], hoax, hoodwink, hornswoggle, humbug, juggle, misguide, misinform, mislead, snooker, snow, spoof, string along, suck in, sucker, take in
Words Related to trick

kid, put on, tease

bleed, cheat, chisel, defraud, diddle, euchre, flam, fleece, gyp, hustle, mulct, rook, shortchange, skin, squeeze, stick, sting, swindle
Phrases Synonymous with trick

do a number on, lead one down the garden path (also lead one up the garden path), pull one's leg, pull the wool over one's eyes
Near Antonyms of trick

debunk, expose, reveal, show up, uncloak, uncover, unmask

disclose, divulge, tell, unveil

disabuse, disenchant, disillusion
Antonyms of trick

undeceive

Learn More about trick

  1. See words that rhyme with trick Dictionary: Definition of trick Spanish Central: Translation of trick Nglish: Translation of trick for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of trick for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about trick

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up trick? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show comments hide comments

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

WORD OF THE DAY

magniloquent

Listen to the pronounciation of magniloquent

grandiloquent, ostentatious, or bombastic

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. exonerate Barr summarizes Mueller report

  2. catamount Vermont enters the Round of 64

  3. mendacious, mendacity George Conway calls Trump a liar

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games