as in sucker
one who is easily deceived or cheated
an Internet newbie who's the perfect patsy for a cyber scam
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Recent Examples of patsy
Slightly, meanwhile, targets Joe as his patsy to smuggle a Xenomorph embryo out of Prodigy, still resentful that Wendy’s family is here safely while his mother is far away and being threatened by Morrow.
—
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2025
He was often portrayed as a DOGE patsy, perhaps even a fool.
—Eli Hager, ProPublica, 8 Sep. 2025
The problem is that any Fed governor who agrees with him risks looking like a patsy, according to UBS’s Paul Donovan.
—Jim Edwards, Fortune, 30 July 2025
News stories about Iran and Netanyahu playing him as a patsy didn’t help.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for patsy
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2025
He was often portrayed as a DOGE patsy, perhaps even a fool.
—Eli Hager, ProPublica, 8 Sep. 2025
The problem is that any Fed governor who agrees with him risks looking like a patsy, according to UBS’s Paul Donovan.
—Jim Edwards, Fortune, 30 July 2025
News stories about Iran and Netanyahu playing him as a patsy didn’t help.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for patsy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patsy
Noun
-
Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the tip of the hectocotylus is covered in small sucker cups that are structurally identical to the sensory suckers on their regular hunting arms.—
Jacek Krywko,
ArsTechnica,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The worst part though, is all the suckers kept coming up from the pear roots.—
Steve Bender,
Southern Living,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Some of the victims had been wearing backpacks equipped with airbags that can help keep people on the surface of an avalanche, but had not pulled the cords to deploy the bags, the report said.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
4 Apr. 2026
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Responding officers discovered that the victim suffered from wounds to his head and body and also found a bloody hammer.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Seven stacks of tiny paper cups were arranged to the left, next to packets of Nescafé, pouches of two-minute noodles, and a double gas burner connected to the cylinder—the main tool of his trade.—
Nathan Heller,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Abbott’s use of AL16 as a marketing tool worked.—
David Hilzenrath,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Miller has always taken the American people for brainless, heartless chumps lost in a swamp of nostalgia who’ll believe whatever Trumpworld tells them to.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Jan. 2026
-
If the Niners lose, the Rams can grab the No. 5 seed and a date with the NFC South chump.—
Vic Tafur,
New York Times,
1 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Patsy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patsy. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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