bluffing 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of bluffingnext
as in pretending

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

bluffing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of bluff
1
as in fooling
to cause to believe what is untrue I bluffed the interviewer into believing that I could really speak French and thus would be the perfect person to serve in the newspaper's Paris bureau

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in assuming
to present a false appearance of the basketball player bluffed a shot, then passed instead

Synonyms & Similar Words

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bluffing
  1. fooling
  2. pretending
  3. duplicitous
  4. assuming
  5. hypocritical
  6. deceiving
  7. simulating
  8. insincere
Verb
  • Liverpool are regularly seeing apps that replicate the appearance of genuine tickets — fooling not just first-time visitors to Anfield.
    James Pearce, The Athletic, 2 Jan. 2025
  • The ultimate aim is, with the use of multiple layers of such transformations, fooling malware classifiers into thinking malicious code is, in fact, totally benign.
    Davey Winder, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of fooling
Verb
  • While maintaining a quirky and mysterious air, the show yields questions like, is a cult real if its creators are pretending but its followers aren’t?
    Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2024
  • June Squibb plays the titular Thelma, who gets taken in by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson Danny (Fred Hechinger) to the tune of $10,000.
    Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 23 Dec. 2024
Definition of pretending
Adjective
  • This reduces the risk of people unknowingly clicking on duplicitous links, helping ward off the threat.
    Mike Wilson, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
  • At the same time, the LIA was conducting a duplicitous public-relations campaign that sought to sow doubt about the dangers posed by lead.
    Stephen Mihm, The Mercury News, 2 Jan. 2025
Definition of duplicitous
Verb
  • As such, even assuming that some more tariffs are put on, the potential impact on China's economy overall is likely to be limited.
    Brendan Ahern, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
  • In the chaos, the girls' mother evacuated with another daughter, assuming Lama and Sama were with their father.
    Sarah Ferguson, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Definition of assuming
Adjective
  • Jamie Bernstein considers the attitude hypocritical.
    Miguel Sirgado, Miami Herald, 6 Jan. 2025
  • There are several moments in which Stewart comes off as hypocritical and lacking self-awareness.
    Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2024
Definition of hypocritical
Verb
  • Arizona's temperature can be deceiving and deadly.
    Shelby Slade, The Arizona Republic, 2 Jan. 2025
  • As Soon As This Week That number is certainly deceiving, though.
    Rob Reischel, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
Definition of deceiving
Verb
  • In addition to large-scale data theft, economic disruption, and intelligence breaches, quantum computers could be used for malicious purposes such as simulating and synthesizing chemical weapons or optimizing the flight trajectories of a swarm of drones.
    Charina Chou, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
  • Nvidia’s Omniverse allows users to put together world scenes digitally, simulating a physical environment.
    Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 7 Jan. 2025
Definition of simulating
Adjective
  • Personalization is key to effective cold emailing, but doing it wrong can make your emails feel insincere or even drive people away.
    Samuel Darwin, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
  • Carolyn Hax: Do superlative compliments start to feel insincere?
    Washington Post, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2024
Definition of insincere
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near bluffing

bluffers

bluffing

bluffly

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Cite this Entry

“Bluffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bluffing. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

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More from Merriam-Webster on bluffing

Nglish: Translation of bluffing for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of bluffing for Arabic Speakers

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