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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Recent Examples of outsmart
If people are constantly outsmarting the system, what does that say about the system itself?
—
Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025
To outsmart enemy defenses Current tests on the MQ-9 are being conducted in Syracuse, New York, and there is growing interest from the KC-46 and KC-135 tanker communities after successful demonstrations at the Air Reserve Components’ premiere weapons and tactics conference, known as ARCWEPTAC.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 18 Mar. 2025
To take back her freedom, Sara builds alliances and hunts for ways to outsmart the devices monitoring her dreams.
—Erin Douglass, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Mar. 2025
The plot might seem repetitive, going back and forth between Violet trying to follow the anonymous rules and worming her way out of them to seek help (only to be outsmarted), but the movie’s exciting, stage-like formal flourishes and its disorienting lensing keep things moving smoothly.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for outsmart
Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025
To outsmart enemy defenses Current tests on the MQ-9 are being conducted in Syracuse, New York, and there is growing interest from the KC-46 and KC-135 tanker communities after successful demonstrations at the Air Reserve Components’ premiere weapons and tactics conference, known as ARCWEPTAC.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 18 Mar. 2025
To take back her freedom, Sara builds alliances and hunts for ways to outsmart the devices monitoring her dreams.
—Erin Douglass, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Mar. 2025
The plot might seem repetitive, going back and forth between Violet trying to follow the anonymous rules and worming her way out of them to seek help (only to be outsmarted), but the movie’s exciting, stage-like formal flourishes and its disorienting lensing keep things moving smoothly.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for outsmart
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outsmart
Verb
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The old lad won the 2025 Masters in the most patent way possible, by outwitting an army of demons and finally meeting his place in history.—
Brendan Quinn,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
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Virgil van Dijk got outwitted by the combative Rodrigo Muniz for Fulham’s third.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The Guna have long thwarted real-estate developers and foreign investors eyeing both the shore and the uninhabited islands, which are a postcard vision of paradise.—
Mark Johanson,
AFAR Media,
22 Apr. 2025
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The Knights center used his stick to thwart a clearing attempt by Wild defenseman Brock Faber at the side of the net, then grabbed the loose puck and fired it into a tiny gap over Gustavsson’s right shoulder to give the home team the early lead.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
21 Apr. 2025
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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Both competitors defeated four female opponents each to get to the championship bout.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2025
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In Brazil’s 2023 Presidential election, Lula da Silva defeated Jair Bolsonaro by less than two percentage points.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Not without its controversy, like life, the show has tried to demonstrate that family can overcome anything with love, laughter, and conversation.—
DeVonne Goode,
Parents,
24 Apr. 2025
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Trailing 0-2, the Heat now faces a series deficit that not many NBA teams have overcome.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2025
Verb
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In the most iconic scene, he gets outfoxed on the subway by the French drug lord on a subway, playing cat-and-mouse on the platform.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
27 Feb. 2025
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Ultimately, the most challenging part of a campaign for Crimea may not be outfoxing Russia.—
Andriy Zagorodnyuk,
Foreign Affairs,
2 Jan. 2023
Verb
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That was probably a terrible decision, in fairness, but Meazza responded by faking a shot to fool a defender, then teed up Piola to score.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
20 Apr. 2025
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While the towering shoes may seem intimidating, don’t let their large, often chunky heels fool you: PLatform shoes are among the most comfortable heels in any wardrobe.—
Nina Derwin,
Glamour,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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And if this isn’t an isolated incident, then this presents a huge problem for the remnants of humanity, most of whom have survived through a mixture of luck and simply being able to outthink these single-minded creatures.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
13 Apr. 2025
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Perhaps the shape rotators are convinced that computers can outthink us because their own minds are so impoverished.—
Becca Rothfeld,
Washington Post,
26 June 2024
Cite this Entry
“Outsmart.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outsmart. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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