as in joking
marked by or expressive of mild or good-natured teasing
ribbed him with fooling comments about how much his hair had grayed
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in deception
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in tricking
to cause to believe what is untrue
I fooled him into thinking that we were driving to the store, not to his surprise birthday party
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in kidding
to make jokes
an edgy comedian fooling with an appreciative college audience
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fooling
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
But Khamenei’s bravado isn’t fooling anyone.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2024
No, your calendar is not fooling you; December is here, and Christmas is right around the corner.
—Greg Manlove, Rolling Stone, 12 Dec. 2024
At one point, Stevenson, who is entering his second season, even let out a deep sigh when asked about the difficulty of covering Allen, a seasoned vet skilled in fooling defensive backs.
—Jon Greenberg, The Athletic, 21 Aug. 2024
Feminist activism wasn’t based on fooling women to give up something great.
—Marissa C. Rhodes / Made By History, TIME, 8 Oct. 2024
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
But Khamenei’s bravado isn’t fooling anyone.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2024
No, your calendar is not fooling you; December is here, and Christmas is right around the corner.
—Greg Manlove, Rolling Stone, 12 Dec. 2024
At one point, Stevenson, who is entering his second season, even let out a deep sigh when asked about the difficulty of covering Allen, a seasoned vet skilled in fooling defensive backs.
—Jon Greenberg, The Athletic, 21 Aug. 2024
Feminist activism wasn’t based on fooling women to give up something great.
—Marissa C. Rhodes / Made By History, TIME, 8 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fooling
Noun
-
Trickery, obfuscation, and deception are common in local politics.—
Harvey Levine,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Mar. 2025
-
Tyler Perry’s latest thriller, Duplicity, hits theaters today, March 20, delivering a suspenseful story of deception, justice, and betrayal.—
Shelby Stewart,
Essence,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Nile and Bernard seemed like best friends, always joking and very excited.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
22 Dec. 2024
-
Not just the kind of vaudevillian two guys joking around with each other on stage, but even just as individual comedians.—
Justin Koreis,
Rolling Stone,
21 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Not least because the ruse allows for a Putin or two to die while another survives without toppling the edifice built by the original one.—
Melik Kaylan,
Forbes,
22 Mar. 2025
-
The defendants never believed the ruse and within hours were sending threatening messages to Rendon, according to prosecutors.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Mar. 2025
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
Noun
-
They are rooted in mental and physical prowess, not digital trickery.—
Tony Bradley,
Forbes,
22 Mar. 2025
-
Yet even as that’s happening, Patterson stages it all with an elliptical trickery that keeps the film knowingly off-balance.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
His delivery of Mantel’s dialogue—modern, intelligent, bristling with implication and subterfuge—is mesmerizingly clear.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
20 Mar. 2025
-
With a bit of guidance, navigating between the classic go-to’s and the newer dining options are scattered throughout the properties can lead to incredible culinary discoveries, plenty of popping champagne bottles and even a dash of historical subterfuge.—
Alissa Fitzgerald,
Forbes,
22 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
That seems like an awfully optimistic reading of Trump’s strategic wiles.—
David Remnick,
The New Yorker,
9 Mar. 2025
-
The crowd is made up of hard-core skiers and riders undeterred by the wiles of nature or the perils of big-mountain skiing.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Its biting satire is complimented by engaging mechanics like the stratagems.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
28 Dec. 2024
-
The competitors are in a trancelike state, building a stratagem.—
Maddie Connors,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Fooling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fooling. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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