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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tricksters
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
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
Noun
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Her character also has a fake handicapped license plate and cheats at golf.—
Tracy Wright,
FOXNews.com,
21 Oct. 2025
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No one cheats like college football.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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With three new magicians, plus the returns of Caplan and Mark Ruffalo’s Dylan (in a brief cameo), the Four Horsemen become eight by the end of the movie.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
23 Nov. 2025
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How exactly did a movie about magicians, of all things, become a true Hollywood success story?—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
15 Nov. 2025
Noun
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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
Noun
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Thirty sharks were added, too, before the exhibit opened to the public in April 2003.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Jan. 2026
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Since 1950, sharks have killed 16 people in California, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.—
Ryan Macasero,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Serial swindlers and men prone to violence are among the seven people Colorado’s gambling regulators have banned for life from casinos since the state created a system last year for barring problem bettors.—
Noelle Phillips,
Denver Post,
20 Oct. 2025
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McKelway, who wrote for the magazine from the nineteen-thirties to the sixties, specialized in true-crime stories, bringing to life a gallery of scamps and swindlers and impostors.—
David Grann,
New Yorker,
19 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tricksters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tricksters. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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