hoodwink

verb

ˈhu̇d-ˌwiŋk How to pronounce hoodwink (audio)
Definition of hoodwinknext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hoodwink In other words, local government officials could have done what the Times reporters did but were hoodwinked, wanted to erase the shame and failed to diligently examine the claims. — Dan Walters, Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2026 Public health often responds that MAHA supporters like Elizabeth, Melinda, and Nancy have been hoodwinked by social media influencers, grifters, and anti-vaccine zealots. — Tom W. Johnson, STAT, 26 Jan. 2026 Invited to provide his thoughts on this, Arbeloa stressed he won’t be hoodwinked. — Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 17 Jan. 2026 Even as the Deliriant and his pint-size accomplice attempt to hoodwink a monster, they’re left to wonder, poignantly, if anything in their duplicitous world is real. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hoodwink
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoodwink
  1. deceive
  2. fool
  3. trick
Verb
  • The evidence does not establish that Claude deliberately set out to deceive investigators.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Until Holmes, the characters in Oppenheim’s documentaries had been relative unknowns — people with far less incentive to deceive him.
    — Alex Barasch, Vulture, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of deceive
Verb
  • As temperatures drop in the fall, aphids, like other garden pests, are less active, but don’t be fooled by appearances.
    — Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Don’t be fooled by the big numbers that these guys throw around in their ballots.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of fool
Verb
  • Those conducting the online scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals -- many Chinese -- tricked themselves into work and held in prison-like compounds.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • But a few times in recent years, Hollins, a veterinarian, tricked Jonathan and slid a cotton swab into the giant tortoise’s mouth to get a saliva sample.
    — Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of trick

Browse Nearby Words

hoods
hoodwink
hoodwinked
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Cite this Entry

“Hoodwink.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoodwink. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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