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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of patsy
News stories about Iran and Netanyahu playing him as a patsy didn’t help.
—
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 23 June 2025
Today’s Wordle Etymology The word patsy apparently comes from the Italian name Patsy, short for Pasquale, which was used in vaudeville productions and early 20th-century slang to refer to a gullible or easily deceived individual.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025
Harry and Kev are anxiously awaiting word from Richie, who was last seen torturing the patsy that was set up to take the fall for Tommy's murder.
—Matt Cabral, EW.com, 20 Apr. 2025
Fraudsters create phishing sites to con their patsies into giving away valuable login credentials.
—PCMAG, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for patsy
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 23 June 2025
Today’s Wordle Etymology The word patsy apparently comes from the Italian name Patsy, short for Pasquale, which was used in vaudeville productions and early 20th-century slang to refer to a gullible or easily deceived individual.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025
Harry and Kev are anxiously awaiting word from Richie, who was last seen torturing the patsy that was set up to take the fall for Tommy's murder.
—Matt Cabral, EW.com, 20 Apr. 2025
Fraudsters create phishing sites to con their patsies into giving away valuable login credentials.
—PCMAG, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for patsy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patsy
Noun
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After 2024 treatments, the state saw the impact mostly on carp and sucker fish, spokesperson Sydney Kennedy told the Statesman.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
12 Sep. 2025
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Train yourself to look for growth that should be removed, such as tomato suckers and low-growing tomato branches, excess dahlia foliage, and tangled thyme.—
Andy Wilcox,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The most successful so far comes from Tampa, where a circuit court judge in August reaffirmed a statewide injunction pausing DOAH hearings after a Hurricane Milton victim argued the company was violating his rights.—
Mario Ariza,
ProPublica,
15 Sep. 2025
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The motion is still pending, and families of the crash victims urged the court to reject it.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The automation tools haven’t put much of a crimp on the 27 million or so of today’s global software engineers who generally do their coding by hand.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.—
Thomas Westerholm,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In the space of less than two weeks, the Boston Red Sox have gone from chumps to, if not champs, at least contenders.—
Jon Vankin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 July 2025
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But even after a solid win like this, the Yankees did more chump stuff on the bases.—
Mike Lupica,
New York Daily News,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Patsy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patsy. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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