as in to deceive
to cause to believe what is untrue
Tom Sawyer famously hoodwinked the other boys into thinking there was nothing more enjoyable than whitewashing a fence
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Recent Examples of hoodwink
Both lawsuits argue that the news outlets deliberately hoodwinked the public, in violation of state consumer protection laws.
—
New York Times, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2025
Horror diehards will likely walk away feeling hoodwinked by a freaky trailer that promises something more extreme than what gets delivered.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
Charismatic leaders hoodwink highly intelligent, creative people, too.
—David Oliver, USA TODAY, 31 Oct. 2024
Charismatic leaders hoodwink highly intelligent, creative people, too.
—David Oliver, USA TODAY, 26 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hoodwink
New York Times, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2025
Horror diehards will likely walk away feeling hoodwinked by a freaky trailer that promises something more extreme than what gets delivered.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
Charismatic leaders hoodwink highly intelligent, creative people, too.
—David Oliver, USA TODAY, 31 Oct. 2024
Charismatic leaders hoodwink highly intelligent, creative people, too.
—David Oliver, USA TODAY, 26 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hoodwink
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoodwink
Verb
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But as, as the brilliant evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller notes, our capacities to judge competence have evolved, so too have our capacities to deceive others about it.—
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
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And Ken claims to be a man of faith but uses fake Uber accounts to meet his girlfriend and deceive his family.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Then, as if anyone was fooled, the talk show host pulled off his hat, wig and snap-on nose and lip piercings and Sheeran pulled of his wig to reveal his signature carrot top to shouts of joy.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
9 Apr. 2025
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But don't let the name fool you, Murderbot isn't actually the frightening story of a dangerous security robot.—
Shania Russell,
EW.com,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Be Wary of Phishing Emails and Texts After a breach, scammers may impersonate the affected company to trick you into clicking malicious links.—
Alex Vakulov,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
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She was tricked by the very devilish Zeus, who broke his way into many marriages.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
6 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hoodwink.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoodwink. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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