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
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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
as in pretending
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of bluffing
Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2025
But Zelensky said Wednesday that the Russian leader was bluffing.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2025
David Lerner, the mind behind MAGLYNX is not bluffing his way through buzzwords or chasing Silicon Valley validation.
—Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2025
Oil prices closed 1% lower as traders seem to believe the president is bluffing and the tariff won't really go into effect.
—Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Lorne Michaels promised big changes at Saturday Night Live ahead of season 51’s premiere, and the creator and executive producer was evidently not bluffing.
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2025
But Zelensky said Wednesday that the Russian leader was bluffing.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2025
David Lerner, the mind behind MAGLYNX is not bluffing his way through buzzwords or chasing Silicon Valley validation.
—Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2025
Oil prices closed 1% lower as traders seem to believe the president is bluffing and the tariff won't really go into effect.
—Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bluffing
Verb
-
Stop fooling yourself and listen.—
Richard B. Williams,
Denver Post,
10 Sep. 2025
-
And tech companies must do far more in the design of AI systems to prevent people fooling themselves into thinking these systems are conscious beings.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
26 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The challenge is to stop pretending the current tools give full control and start demanding real visibility.—
Jagadeesh Kunda,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Kelley susses out that Göring is pretending not to understand or speak English, and for a couple of scenes that gives the shrink a leg up.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Yet pop culture continues to fixate on these single women, with horror movies in particular framing them as duplicitous and unstable—threats to the public good.—
Beatrice Loayza,
The Atlantic,
13 Aug. 2025
-
Unfortunately, my mom was irresponsible and even duplicitous about money many times over the years.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
What does work is tricking her into pressing a button that knocks her out.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
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While the Phantom Hacker attack is designed specifically to drain your bank accounts, there are plenty of variants relying on tricking you into installing dangerous software that either gives an attacker a view of your device or hijacks it completely.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Free as a Bird albums — with Davies assuming the lead vocals and songwriting by himself.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
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Creating truly inclusive environments means understanding and addressing these disparities, not assuming one-size-fits-all solutions will work.—
Tara Fitzpatrick-Navarro,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Delegates and party leaders described it as a corrupt and hypocritical maneuver from the governor.—
Nicole Nixon,
Sacbee.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Meghan McCain, the conservative commentator and daughter of late Senator John McCain, faced immediate backlash after mocking Greta Thunberg's appearance, comparing the Swedish climate activist to Shrek villain Lord Farquaad in a post critics slammed as hypocritical.—
Emma Marsden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Looks can be deceiving, Cali said.—
Bryan Washington,
New Yorker,
7 Sep. 2025
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The lexicon of the wine world can be deceiving.—
Tom Mullen,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In 2022, the company achieved the world’s first test of a megawatt-class, multi-kilovolt hybrid electric propulsion system in altitude conditions simulating single-aisle commercial flight.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Sep. 2025
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On occasion, especially as the film builds to its lugubrious finale, Mielants tries other tricks, simulating long tracking shots that seem to glide through the school and then out onto the grounds.—
Richard Lawson,
IndieWire,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bluffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bluffing. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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