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hoodwink

[hoo d-wingk]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to deceive or trick.
  2. Archaic. to blindfold.
  3. Obsolete. to cover or hide.
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Origin of hoodwink

First recorded in 1555–65; hood1 + wink1
Related formshood·wink·a·ble, adjectivehood·wink·er, nounun·hood·winked, adjective

Synonyms

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1. dupe, cheat, swindle, gyp.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hoodwinked

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • But Themistocles was not the man to be hoodwinked by the simple cunning of the Spartans.

  • You imagine that a man like that can be played with, and hoodwinked by amateurs like yourself.

    The Market-Place

    Harold Frederic

  • They must have thought they had hoodwinked me and were probably then rejoicing at their success.

  • Their safety required a Governor who could be controlled or hoodwinked by them.

    Rabbi and Priest

    Milton Goldsmith

  • I was not hoodwinked, but neither was I stirred to resistance.

    The King's Mirror

    Anthony Hope

British Dictionary definitions for hoodwinked

hoodwink

verb (tr)
  1. to dupe; trick
  2. obsolete to cover or hide
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Derived Formshoodwinker, noun

Word Origin

C16: originally, to cover the eyes with a hood, blindfold
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hoodwinked

hoodwink

v.

1560s, "to blindfold," from hood (n.1) + wink; figurative sense of "mislead, deceive" is c.1600. Related: Hoodwinked; hoodwinking.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper