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 Word Forms

• unbluffing 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

“And, of course, I didn’t have a film festival. I had an idea for a film festival. So I was bluffing on both sides.”

From Los Angeles Times

"A lot of people thought he was bluffing on more than a few things," he says.

From BBC

For all these reasons, when Mohan declares that YouTube will remain the epicenter of culture, he’s not bluffing.

From Salon

While speaking to a group of business leaders on Friday, Trudeau said that Trump is not bluffing about his plans to turn Canada into "the 51st state."

From Salon

They were highly organised and unlikely to be bluffing - the traffickers had texted her children directly in the past and knew where they lived and which school they went to.

From BBC

Related Words

• corrupt 
• crooked 
• deceitful 
• deceptive 
• false 
• fraudulent 
• misleading 
• shady 
• sneaky 
• underhanded 
• unfair 
• unprincipled 
• unscrupulous 
• untrustworthy