hornswoggled

verb

past tense of hornswoggle
as in tricked
to cause to believe what is untrue I think we've been hornswoggled by that carnival barker

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hornswoggled
  1. tricked
  2. deceived
  3. fooled
Verb
  • Ricky Saints tricked the referee into thinking Lil Yachty used the kendo stick on him, and after traveling all the way to Riyadh, Yachty was tossed out just minutes into the match.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 27 June 2026
  • While the war ended years before, the hostility spread from the stands — with skirmishes among supporters — into the field, when Maradona tricked the referee and the world with the World Cup’s most infamous goal, punching the ball into the net with his fist above England’s goalie Peter Shilton.
    — Gabriel Sama, Mercury News, 21 June 2026
Definition of tricked
Verb
  • Part of the robot’s training was to handle situations in which its handlers have deliberately deceived it.
    — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 6 July 2026
  • In the second half, the Paraguayan then deceived the Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev into a yellow card for Michael Olise.
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of deceived
Verb
  • Don’t be fooled by their jaw-dropping price; the flats boast a luxe look thanks to their low profile and—of course—glove silhouette.
    — Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 3 July 2026
  • The fluffy blooms on mimosa trees (Albizia julibrissin) look pretty in pink, but don’t be fooled by their dainty appearance.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 2 July 2026
Definition of fooled
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.

Browse Nearby Words

hornswoggle
hornswoggled
hornswoggles
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Cite this Entry

“Hornswoggled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hornswoggled. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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