tricksters

noun

plural of trickster
1
as in cheats
a dishonest person who uses clever means to cheat others out of something of value a heartless trickster swindled the elderly woman out of her life savings

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in magicians
one who practices tricks and illusions for entertainment a very adept trickster who used mirrors to make huge items—even buildings—seem to disappear

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 tricksters Today, all too many of us risk becoming the prey of political tricksters and knaves. — Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026 Keep your heart open, but be mindful of tricksters and projection. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 16 June 2026 Eating disorders are master tricksters. — Eden Laase, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2026 Like the tricksters of myth, there’s depth to their slyness. — Big Think, 5 Feb. 2026 Floods, tricksters, battles with monsters, creation and apocalypse—sometimes the resemblances are uncanny. — Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025 Many of the short form videos are skits featuring cartoonish depictions of Putin, Khamenei and Kim Jong Un posing as tricksters that prank, imprison or kill Trump and Netanyahu. — Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025 In addition to taste testing at the wine and beer tents, see live performances by musical artists, polka dancers and BMX tricksters. — Caroline Ritzie, The Enquirer, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tricksters
  1. cheats
  2. magicians
  3. dodgers
  4. sharks
  5. swindlers
Noun
  • Democrats passed significant funding for the IRS to go after wealthy tax cheats, which was repealed by Republicans.
    — WCCO Staff, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The Trasks encounter a wide swath of citizens, haggling with sneaky cheats, exploiting innocent fools, and befriending big-hearted neighbors.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of cheats
Noun
  • For most of history, locksmiths and lockmakers have guarded their secrets as closely as magicians withhold their tricks.
    — Shayla Love, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Antoniou developed his craft through years of study with practitioners ranging from tarot readers and psychics to hypnotists, magicians, and psychologists.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of magicians
Noun
  • The White House is now cracking down on these tariff dodgers.
    — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Ukraine faces severe personnel shortages with around 200,000 military desertions and 2 million draft-dodgers, threatening its ability to sustain the war against Russia’s 2022 invasion.
    — Kirsten Grieshaber, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026
Definition of dodgers
Noun
  • Among the diverse habitats are a salt marsh that serves as a nursery for leopard sharks and bat rays as well as kelp forests frequented by harbor seals and wrasses.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Six sharks received cortisol implants dissolved in coconut oil, while six others received coconut oil alone.
    — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of sharks
Noun
  • The decade ended tumultuously, with the Osmond family’s fortune drained by a series of swindlers and grifters.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2026
  • This scam, according to Kent, could be proliferated with the use of AI, which can allow swindlers to enroll in many different college programs at once.
    — Peter D'Abrosca, FOXNews.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Definition of swindlers

Browse Nearby Words

trickster
tricksters
tricksy
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tricksters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tricksters. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All