as in to outwit
to get the better of through cleverness
an inexpensive security system that would likely be outsmarted by anyone with a serious interest in circumventing it
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of outsmart
The attacker does not need to outsmart Instagram.
—
Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 15 Jan. 2026
Even young people trying to outsmart automation by ditching degrees or upskilling into trade jobs are destined for the same dead end.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 19 Dec. 2025
Trapped in a secret room within Vault 31, the youngest member of the once-prestigious MacLean family (played by Moisés Arias) is desperate to outsmart the demented half-robot holding him hostage.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 16 Dec. 2025
The bacteria continues to outsmart many of the antibiotics that doctors have long relied on, meaning those drugs are no longer as effective at treating the infection.
—Jacqueline Howard, CNN Money, 12 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for outsmart
Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 15 Jan. 2026
Even young people trying to outsmart automation by ditching degrees or upskilling into trade jobs are destined for the same dead end.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 19 Dec. 2025
Trapped in a secret room within Vault 31, the youngest member of the once-prestigious MacLean family (played by Moisés Arias) is desperate to outsmart the demented half-robot holding him hostage.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 16 Dec. 2025
The bacteria continues to outsmart many of the antibiotics that doctors have long relied on, meaning those drugs are no longer as effective at treating the infection.
—Jacqueline Howard, CNN Money, 12 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for outsmart
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outsmart
Verb
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The characters here, though, are nowhere near so smart as those conniving pagans and can only dream of outwitting the sophisticated folk from the mainland, coming there with their talk of cake, and comfy chairs, and their lies.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
22 Jan. 2026
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Her adrenal gland would begin to work overtime and she’d be lifted up, energized, hunted, and desperate to outwit her attacker and survive.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In the 27th minute, diving to his left to thwart Juninho Vieira.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Feb. 2026
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The Prince and Princess of Wales’ statement came ahead of William’s three-day trip to Saudi Arabia, which kicked off on Monday—likely in an attempt to thwart any questions about the issue while the future king is abroad.—
Rachel Burchfield,
InStyle,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Despite being outnumbered and outmaneuvered, Washington maintained order among his demoralized troops.—
Christopher Magra,
The Conversation,
10 Feb. 2026
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Frady is caught in something confusing and unexpected, his stance of paranoid preparedness unable to outmaneuver this, and what’s coming.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Is someone attempting to deceive you?—
Big Think,
Big Think,
10 Feb. 2026
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Your eyes aren't deceiving you.—
Jessica Farthing,
Southern Living,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Magic rallied from 17 points down to win 120-117, but the Jazz defeated the Heat 115-111.—
Mark Anderson,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Feb. 2026
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The Cyclones, who are 13-0 at Hilton Coliseum this season, have defeated the Jayhawks three straight years in the building.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Tian Feng, former dean of SenseTime’s Intelligence Industry Research Institute, revealed that the free provision of T800 robots will help smaller companies overcome research and development barriers.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Feb. 2026
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The first obstacle to overcome is to develop a computer chip that works in the extreme conditions of space, which includes exposure to much higher levels of radiation.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Liv Morgan begged for a tag, but she was outfoxed by a blind tag from Rhea Ripley.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
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But even foxes can outfox themselves by their own designs.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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These ads may not have fooled as many of us as their makers seemed to think.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Feb. 2026
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And don’t let the utilities and their friends fool you.—
Kendall Keelen,
Hartford Courant,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Outsmart.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outsmart. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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