tricksters

noun

plural of trickster
1
as in cheats
a dishonest person who uses clever means to cheat others out of something of value a heartless trickster swindled the elderly woman out of her life savings

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in magicians
one who practices tricks and illusions for entertainment a very adept trickster who used mirrors to make huge items—even buildings—seem to disappear

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 tricksters Keep your heart open, but be mindful of tricksters and projection. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 16 June 2026 Like his ancestors, once known as prairie wolves, as song dogs, as tricksters and gods, who emerged from the deserts and high plains. — Literary Hub, 12 May 2026 Eating disorders are master tricksters. — Eden Laase, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2026 Like the tricksters of myth, there’s depth to their slyness. — Big Think, 5 Feb. 2026 Floods, tricksters, battles with monsters, creation and apocalypse—sometimes the resemblances are uncanny. — Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025 Many of the short form videos are skits featuring cartoonish depictions of Putin, Khamenei and Kim Jong Un posing as tricksters that prank, imprison or kill Trump and Netanyahu. — Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025 In addition to taste testing at the wine and beer tents, see live performances by musical artists, polka dancers and BMX tricksters. — Caroline Ritzie, The Enquirer, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tricksters
  1. cheats
  2. magicians
  3. dodgers
  4. sharks
  5. swindlers
Noun
  • Sometimes, the fourth-grader asks Robo-Dad for Minecraft cheats.
    — Ella Chakarian, Rolling Stone, 28 June 2026
  • Her most notable reporting has been about taxes, including exposing billionaire tax cheats and writing cover stories on tax shelters (corporate and individual), tax evasion, and tax policy.
    — Forbes Membership, Forbes.com, 5 June 2026
Definition of cheats
Noun
  • The celebrated musicians, the eclectic writers, the artist troupes, the lumberjacks, the magicians.
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 28 July 2026
  • Live music, magicians, a mini parade, and more than 400 vendors transform the avenue into a giant block party.
    — Barbara Noe Kennedy, Travel + Leisure, 28 July 2026
Definition of magicians
Noun
  • Ukraine faces severe personnel shortages with around 200,000 military desertions and 2 million draft-dodgers, threatening its ability to sustain the war against Russia’s 2022 invasion.
    — Kirsten Grieshaber, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026
  • But my collection intentionally ignored the fraudulent exploits of billionaire heirs, tax dodgers and corporate magnates — defense contracts, government lobbying, bank accounts in Switzerland, shell companies in Panama, citizenship of Antigua and political asylum in London.
    — Snigdha Poonam, The Dial, 28 Oct. 2025
Definition of dodgers
Noun
  • Participants will mix and mingle amid the attraction’s aquatic residents, including sharks, stingrays, sea turtles, starfish, anemones and thousands of fish and travel through Sea Life’s trademark 360-degree ocean tunnel.
    — Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2026
  • These pristine epicenters of biodiversity are teeming with life, from thriving coral reefs to sharks and seabird colonies.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of sharks
Noun
  • The decade ended tumultuously, with the Osmond family’s fortune drained by a series of swindlers and grifters.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2026
  • This scam, according to Kent, could be proliferated with the use of AI, which can allow swindlers to enroll in many different college programs at once.
    — Peter D'Abrosca, FOXNews.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Definition of swindlers

Browse Nearby Words

trickster
tricksters
tricksy
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Cite this Entry

“Tricksters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tricksters. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on tricksters

Nglish: Translation of tricksters for Spanish Speakers

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