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
Haider staged a fake murder in an apparent effort to hoodwink Abbas and his bosses.
—
Renee Maltezou, Cassell Bryan-Low, Yannis Souliotis and Phil Stewart, USA TODAY, 6 Oct. 2024
Many individuals and companies don’t report after they’ve been hoodwinked.
—Frank Teruel, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024
But the season finale truly opened eyes — and its universe — when scrappy dirtbag Eleanor (Kristen Bell) deduced that the avuncular architect guide had hoodwinked them all and that the Good Place was actually...the Bad Place.
—EW.com, 19 Feb. 2025
Billy has lost everything, including his wife, his savings and his dreams thanks to shady entrepreneur Charles Hegel (Josh Brener) who hoodwinked him.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hoodwink
Renee Maltezou, Cassell Bryan-Low, Yannis Souliotis and Phil Stewart, USA TODAY, 6 Oct. 2024
Many individuals and companies don’t report after they’ve been hoodwinked.
—Frank Teruel, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024
But the season finale truly opened eyes — and its universe — when scrappy dirtbag Eleanor (Kristen Bell) deduced that the avuncular architect guide had hoodwinked them all and that the Good Place was actually...the Bad Place.
—EW.com, 19 Feb. 2025
Billy has lost everything, including his wife, his savings and his dreams thanks to shady entrepreneur Charles Hegel (Josh Brener) who hoodwinked him.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hoodwink
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoodwink
Verb
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Even children who are online only in small doses likely see false or inaccurate information that might deceive them.—
Evan Orticio,
Scientific American,
2 June 2025
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In November, Dove pleaded guilty in Gaston County to a dozen felony charges related to illegally accessing police computer systems and helping someone deceive a polygraph test, The Gaston Gazette reported.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
30 May 2025
Verb
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Reyes was a nice spring training story, but the Yankees were fooled by meaningless February and March stats.—
Chris Kirschner,
New York Times,
8 June 2025
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But don't be fooled, as these texts are sophisticated scams designed to steal your personal information or money.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
7 June 2025
Verb
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Geragos asked Jane about presents that Diddy lavished upon her, for example, seemingly to suggest that his gift-giving indicated a romantic relationship, not a ruse to trick her into kink.—
Victoria Bekiempis,
Vulture,
11 June 2025
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Phishing pages masquerade as banks, auction sites, and other sensitive sites, hoping to trick victims into logging in.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
11 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hoodwink.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoodwink. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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