as in tricked
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
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Recent Examples of hoodwinked
To this day, a portion of the left-wing Democratic elite views Obama as a charlatan who hoodwinked their voters into supporting him.
—
Ben Smith, semafor.com, 28 Apr. 2026
There’s no argument that somehow people were hoodwinked or didn’t know what was in the contract.
—Adam Crafton, New York Times, 10 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
Reps for Young and Baez declined to comment, much like reps for Bob Dylan, Phil Collins, Bruce Springsteen, and others who have passed on making statements about AI imagery that’s hoodwinked whatever percentage of their fan bases.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2025
Slow Horses is a twisty show, but the assumption that Roddy had been hoodwinked by a glamorous woman far out of his league seemed about as safe a bet as possible.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
However, for your sign, money and possessions are where you might be hoodwinked or not realize what’s going on.
—Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 23 Sep. 2025
Approved by voters hoodwinked by false cost estimates, the project was supposed to be operable by 2020 at a cost of $33 billion.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025
Ben Smith, semafor.com, 28 Apr. 2026
There’s no argument that somehow people were hoodwinked or didn’t know what was in the contract.
—Adam Crafton, New York Times, 10 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
Reps for Young and Baez declined to comment, much like reps for Bob Dylan, Phil Collins, Bruce Springsteen, and others who have passed on making statements about AI imagery that’s hoodwinked whatever percentage of their fan bases.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2025
Slow Horses is a twisty show, but the assumption that Roddy had been hoodwinked by a glamorous woman far out of his league seemed about as safe a bet as possible.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
However, for your sign, money and possessions are where you might be hoodwinked or not realize what’s going on.
—Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 23 Sep. 2025
Approved by voters hoodwinked by false cost estimates, the project was supposed to be operable by 2020 at a cost of $33 billion.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoodwinked
Verb
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How the PayPal refund scam tricked Brian Oliver had never heard of a crypto ATM before that day.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2026
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Tim tricked me into Tyler talking to my parents about their upcoming Alaska trip.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
PEOPLE,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But some were also deceived or coerced.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Musk, who had donated at least $38 million to the lab, wanted to be CEO and gain majority control, but felt deceived after a power struggle with Altman over the role.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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He had been fooled a couple of times by the slider during the sequence but didn’t miss the third one Sasaki threw him.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
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Mbappé broke the deadlock in the 30th minute with a shot that deflected on an Alaves defender and fooled goalkeeper Antonio Sivera.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hoodwinked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoodwinked. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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