ruse

¹

[ rooz ]

noun

1. a trick, stratagem, or artifice.

Ruse

²

[ roo-sey ]

noun

1. a city in N Bulgaria, on the Danube.

Ruse

¹

/ ˈruːseɪ /

noun

1. a city in NE Bulgaria, on the River Danube: the chief river port and one of the largest industrial centres in Bulgaria. Pop: 172 000 (2005 est)

ruse

²

/ ruːz /

noun

1. an action intended to mislead, deceive, or trick; stratagem

Word History and Origins

Origin of ruse¹

1375–1425; late Middle English (noun use of obsolete rusen to detour) < Middle French, derivative of ruser to retreat. See rush ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of ruse¹

C15: from Old French: trick, esp to evade capture, from ruser to retreat, from Latin recūsāre to refuse

Synonym Study

See trick.

Example Sentences

The ruse worked and her attendance at the party went unreported.

From The Daily Beast

But the Beyoncé stage pictures are a ruse: they have an air of intimacy while telling us nothing of substance at all.

From The Daily Beast

Lyman admitted that his friends were skeptical about his motives but he denied suggestions that this was an elaborate ruse.

From The Daily Beast

Some consider this a continued furious response to the vaccine ruse perpetrated by the CIA in order to find Osama bin Laden.

From The Daily Beast

According to the indictment, however, it was all a clever ruse.

From The Daily Beast

The ruse by which he and Lannes captured the bridge below Vienna was discreditable no doubt from the point of view of morality.

From Project Gutenberg

The motive of this harmless ruse was to bolster up Spanish prestige and thereby avoid bloodshed.

From Project Gutenberg

The English, fearing a ruse, continued to stand to their arms till their scouts confirmed the mortifying intelligence.

From Project Gutenberg

Another ruse to keep her mind engaged was to trace out our course with a stick on a patch of bare earth.

From Project Gutenberg

It was but a ruse to hold his attention while savages up the slope and behind fallen timber drew a bead on him.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• feint
• game plan
• gimmick
• hoax
• ploy
• sham
• stratagem
• stunt
• subterfuge