bluffing

[ bluhf-ing ]

noun

1. the act of misleading someone by a display of strength, self-confidence, or the like:

   While the bluffing goes on at the negotiating table, the public, the striking workers, and the employer all lose.

2. Poker, Bridge. the act of deceiving an opponent by a show of confidence in the strength of one’s cards:

   The digital version of the game falls short, because the bluffing needs that eye-to-eye contact, the smug and knowing smiles.

adjective

1. deceiving or misleading someone by a display of strength or confidence:

   Determining whether one faces a serious or bluffing adversary constitutes a major challenge in the bargaining process.

   “Advertising budget” is a poker term for the amount of chips a bluffing player is willing to invest to deceive opponents.

Other Words From

• un·bluff·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bluffing¹

First recorded in 1845–50; bluff ²( def ) + -ing ¹( def ) for the noun senses; bluff ²( def ) + -ing ²( def ) for the adjective sense

Example Sentences

Bluff erosion — even catastrophic bluff collapse — is a natural process that has been occurring in San Diego for thousands of years.

From Voice of San Diego

Recent bluff collapses in San Diego have sparked conversations about public safety on beaches.

From Voice of San Diego

The genesis for the bill was the tragic August 2019 bluff collapse in Encinitas that took the lives of three people.

From Voice of San Diego

More people could die from bluff collapses if nothing is done.

From Voice of San Diego

That same year, another bluff collapse in Del Mar destabilized a set of train tracks regularly carrying passengers between Los Angeles and San Diego.

From Voice of San Diego

Nor would the dangers end there even if Obama were not bluffing; Putin might think he was bluffing anyway and start a war.

From The Daily Beast

As menacing as those automatic rifles were, I felt the Somalis were bluffing.

From The Daily Beast

Even a bluffing superpower can be forced to ante up ... or perhaps fold as casualties mount and treasury accounts go bust.

From The Daily Beast

It may sound absurd at first flush, but politics and poker have a lot more than just bluffing in common.

From The Daily Beast

Jonathan Chait thinks Speaker Boehner is bluffing on allowing the sequestration to take place.

From The Daily Beast

They got somebody, or else they were only bluffing when they waved that scalp.

From Project Gutenberg

Mike grinned, remembering the time he had driven a robot brain daffy by bluffing it at poker.

From Project Gutenberg

He uttered a low laugh of contempt which showed plainer than words that he thought Curlie was bluffing.

From Project Gutenberg

Mrs. Spencer might be, probably was, bluffing but he did not propose to be the one to call it; the result was quite too uncertain.

From Project Gutenberg

She began to laugh at my bluffing words, and ended with a nervous sob.

From Project Gutenberg