as in tricking
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in fooling
Related Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoodwinking
Verb
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James cuts back inside onto his right foot, fooling the defender, rather than going to the byline off his left foot.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025 -
Each plays a role in fooling their foe, who captures the turtle, while the deer, heeding the turtle’s good counsel, manages a sly escape.—
John Nemec,
The Conversation,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
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No, because the medic — work requirements are a ruse.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
13 July 2025
-
Ben Affleck's Argo is a real film about the ruse of making a fake film to help rescue real-life hostages in Iran.—
EW Staff Published,
EW.com,
4 July 2025
Verb
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The show, hosted by actor Alan Cumming and set in a remote Scottish castle, features reality TV veterans and celebrities working together—and often deceiving each other—in challenges for a cash prize.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Appearances, though, can be deceiving.—
Bob Harkins,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
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An especially Jewish theme in the seventeenth century was not only the necessity but the dignity of subterfuge; to have lived in the shadows of another people’s empire had a nobility of its own, captured in this exquisite and ambivalent image.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
19 July 2025
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People generally might not realize the subterfuge at play.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025
Noun
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Last summer, an exponentially growing audience of fans watched her fall head-over-heels for Brit Aaron Evans, only to be left heartbroken over his deception and sobbing to an entirely too appropriate Sabrina Carpenter song chosen by the show's editors.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
19 July 2025
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Finding The Right Balance The cost of workplace deception is more than just a nasty surprise come employee feedback day.—
Dmitry Malin,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
Noun
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In the Carlson interview, Kennedy dismissed the many studies and scientific consensus that shots don’t cause autism as nothing more than statistical trickery.—
Patricia Callahan,
CNN Money,
18 July 2025
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Indeed, in the 1950s, a magician from New York named John Mulholland was secretly contracted with the agency to write a manual for Cold War spies on trickery and deception.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
6 July 2025
Noun
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For people like Soriano, however, the elections are about more than political stratagem and determining which family holds the most nominal power.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
13 May 2025
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The scene is straight out of a stratagem by Pier Paolo Pasolini (Bertolucci’s mentor), but Palud takes it literally without applying comparable ideological critique to the rest of her film.—
Armond White,
National Review,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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In the 21st century, varying degrees of financial deceit — from the Enron accounting scandal to the devastating consequences of massive Ponzi schemes like the one run by Bernie Madoff — continue to impact people across the country.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
13 July 2025
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Every fraudulent claim becomes part of the data used to set next year’s rates, creating a feedback loop where today’s deceit has the potential to become tomorrow’s financial burden.—
Paulina Wierzbicka,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Hoodwinking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoodwinking. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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