verb
-
to dupe; trick
-
obsolete to cover or hide
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hoodwinksimple
-
hoodwinkssimple
-
have hoodwinkedperfect
-
has hoodwinkedperfect
-
am hoodwinkingprogressive
-
are hoodwinkingprogressive
-
is hoodwinkingprogressive
-
have been hoodwinkingperfect progressive
-
has been hoodwinkingperfect progressive
Past
-
hoodwinkedsimple
-
had hoodwinkedperfect
-
was hoodwinkingprogressive
-
were hoodwinkingprogressive
-
had been hoodwinkingperfect progressive
Future
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Tricky Terms for April Fool's Day
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Mr Hogg said Dunlop had the "ability to lie and hoodwink the system", adding: "It's beyond belief."
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2025
The prosecution has said Wirecard's management invented vast sums of phantom revenue to hoodwink investors and creditors.
From Reuters ● Dec. 6, 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
For example, they hoodwink their parents when moving out of their summer dorm room and mislead a judge in an audition.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 15, 2022
“Listen, Max. You think I’m trying to hoodwink you, don’t you?”
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
Alex is so attuned to the “textures and habits” of the elite, so sure she can pull one over on them that she of course hoodwinks herself.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2023
Jackman plays Harold Hill, the con man who hoodwinks the good citizens of River City, Iowa, into believing that he can transform their untrained youngsters into a professional-grade marching band.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2022
He's charismatic and persuasive, and he somehow hoodwinks a class just as impressionable as he.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 3, 2012
Or perhaps Facebook is betting we're too lazy and ignorant to read the fine print, just like wireless carriers who try to dazzle us with their sleight-of-plan hoodwinks.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 6, 2012
A false message carried by an American courier hoodwinks the British.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
The suit claims Banks was prepared for a fair comeuppance, but ultimately the former supermodel felt hoodwinked.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
"He failed us. He failed his country. He hoodwinked us," Gyárfás Oláh, a former Orbán enthusiast and ex-local mayor, told me wearily.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
Let him know that there’s a chance this is a romance scam/honey trap and that even the smartest people get hoodwinked by nefarious characters who take advantage of their loneliness.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 23, 2026
At least those hoodwinked folks weren’t tricked into leaving their houses for nothing.
From Salon ● Jan. 21, 2026
The prison service distrusted all organizations that could affect world opinion, and regarded them not as legitimate investigators to be dealt with honestly but as med-dling interlopers to be hoodwinked if possible.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Another example of agent Scott Boras hoodwinking one of their own, they said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2024
It is digital trickery, hoodwinking the brain into seeing something that isn't really there.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2023
At one point he sent for me, and I found him on his cellphone with someone on the crew, proposing a plot that, I soon gathered, involved hoodwinking Gilligan.
From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2022
They did not realize or understand that he is a con man who thrives on hoodwinking and exploiting others.
From Salon ● Jan. 14, 2021
But Seabiscuit could not be coaxed into showing any speed at all, and to find out if the horse was hoodwinking him, Fitzsimmons opted to make an exception to his nowhip rule.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
