outmaneuvered

verb

past tense of outmaneuver
as in defeated
to get the better of through cleverness outmaneuvered his congressional opponent by co-opting his call for change in Washington

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of outmaneuvered But in the case of the stork, the bird saw the drone and outmaneuvered it. — David Hambling, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026 In the end, Seattle outmaneuvered and outbodied the Sparks, snatching steals and flipping the ball around the perimeter until the Storm fired off a shot. — Liana Handler, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026 Soon, the European LNGs might find themselves being outmaneuvered by others, such as China. — Ike Brannon, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026 Beyond Curaçao, regulators have largely fumbled in their efforts to rein in the offshore casino sector, outmaneuvered by nimble operators who exploit the gap between national laws and enforcement power. — Cecilia D'anastasio, Bloomberg, 27 Feb. 2026 The series will also recreate pivotal moments from Carlos’ life, while Carr examines how Carlos outmaneuvered intelligence services before being captured. — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 24 June 2026 Paramount, which was outmaneuvered by Netflix last December, has received a warmer response from WBD this week and the two media companies are continuing to negotiate. — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 25 Feb. 2026 The auteur can now cross another genre off his bucket list with The Samurai and the Prisoner (Kokurojo), a stately and rather stagy historical mystery set during the 16th century, at a time when warring clans fought and outmaneuvered each other for control of the land. — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 24 May 2026 Infantino endured another lesson in the limits of his facile brand of diplomacy in Vancouver, when he was outmaneuvered by Jibril Rajoub, the 73-year-old president of the Palestinian Football Association, who had asked to address the congress. — Chris Jones, The Atlantic, 7 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outmaneuvered
  1. defeated
  2. outwitted
  3. outsmarted
  4. deceived
  5. thwarted
  6. outfoxed
  7. fooled
  8. overreached
Verb
  • Norway defeated Brazil, while England emerged victorious against Mexico, taking them both through to the quarter-finals.
    — Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 6 July 2026
  • Without a pole, hook, or tree to climb, squirrels are left defeated and bereft.
    — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 July 2026
Definition of defeated
Verb
  • Towering over the town is another, much bigger, Venetian fort, the Palamidhi (named after Palamedes, Nafplio’s legendarily clever local hero, who outwitted Odysseus and, well, didn’t live long enough to regret it).
    — Helen Brown, TheWeek, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Twenty-six years ago, students treated a visit by then-President Bill Clinton as a challenge, and outwitted the Secret Service by secretly rigging a banner to unfurl at an inopportune moment.
    — Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 26 Apr. 2026
Definition of outwitted
Verb
  • Outflanked by cruel and fickle gods at every turn, legendary Greek hero Odysseus outsmarted a one-eyed giant, suffered through the bewitching Sirens’ song and braved the Underworld’s dead denizens.
    — Alex Pulaski, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
  • The world’s leading superpower was outsmarted by Iran, perhaps because Iran’s secretary of defense took his job seriously.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 29 June 2026
Definition of outsmarted
Verb
  • Dana, falling in love with Zorro and out of love with Diego, and being deceived by both, is sublimely affecting.
    — Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
  • In nearly half of all scams, 49% of the victims were also deceived into personally sending money to the scammers.
    — Samantha Elkins, NBC news, 30 June 2026
Definition of deceived
Verb
  • Nicolas Pepe had a shot from roughly 10 yards out that was thwarted by Norway goalkeeper Orjan Haskjold Nyland with his leg.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 June 2026
  • The development of lifesaving medications can be thwarted by too much caution in not tolerating some potential side effects.
    — Dipesh Navsaria, The Conversation, 29 June 2026
Definition of thwarted
Verb
  • Liv Morgan begged for a tag, but she was outfoxed by a blind tag from Rhea Ripley.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
  • No doubt remained that I’d been outfoxed.
    — Charles Elliott, Outdoor Life, 21 Aug. 2025
Definition of outfoxed
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
Verb
  • The defense argued that the encounters were consensual and that the government had overreached.
    — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 9 Mar. 2026
  • Democrats and liberals strongly believe Trump has overreached yet again — albeit not in quite such egregious terms — by inveighing against Bad Bunny.
    — Niall Stanage, The Hill, 10 Feb. 2026
Definition of overreached

Browse Nearby Words

outmaneuver
outmaneuvered
outmaneuvering
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Outmaneuvered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outmaneuvered. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on outmaneuvered

Nglish: Translation of outmaneuvered for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All