verb
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to dupe; trick
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obsolete to cover or hide
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hoodwink
Explanation
To hoodwink someone means to trick or mislead them. Beware of fake ATMs that try to hoodwink you into giving over your bank card and your code, only to keep them both and steal all your money. An excellent, old-fashioned word is hoodwink, and you’ll be happy you know it when you have to read Victorian novels in which characters are repeatedly hoodwinked. It is an Old English compound which meant "to blindfold" 600 years ago but quickly began to be used figuratively. Think about the expression, to pull the wool over someone's eyes, as having the same image and meaning. Has your big sister ever hoodwinked you into doing her chores for her?
Vocabulary lists containing hoodwink
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Tricky Terms for April Fool's Day
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The Tragedy of Macbeth
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It soon became apparent that my name and image were being used by scammers to try to hoodwink people out of money.
From BBC • Feb. 5, 2025
The prosecution has said Wirecard's management invented vast sums of phantom revenue to hoodwink investors and creditors.
From Reuters • Dec. 6, 2022
“It fell off my radar. I had completely forgotten. I was asked to call you at the last minute, so I apologize for that. I wasn’t trying to hoodwink you or anything,” he said.
From Washington Post • Sep. 5, 2022
Optimism, of course, must remain guarded here — and not just because the Mariners regularly hoodwink their fans into thinking that playoff drought is going to end.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 3, 2022
“Listen, Max. You think I’m trying to hoodwink you, don’t you?”
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
