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trickster

American  
[trik-ster] / ˈtrɪk stər /

noun

  1. a deceiver; cheat; fraud.

  2. a person who plays tricks.

  3. a supernatural figure appearing in various guises and typically engaging in mischievous activities, important in the folklore and mythology of many primitive peoples and usually conceived as a culture hero.

trickster British  
/ ˈtrɪkstə /

noun

  1. a person who deceives or plays tricks

"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

Other Word Forms

  • trickstering noun

Etymology

Origin of trickster

First recorded in 1705–15; trick + -ster

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.

Speaking of the 2016 film, Dwayne Johnson, who voiced the shapeshifter demigod and hero of men in the animated “Moana,” will also portray the live-action version of the arrogant trickster.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2025

Watching a trickster hypnotize someone in a live performance might impress you.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025

The work in question is a "maqāma" -- an Arabic literary form that often features a wandering "trickster."

From Science Daily • Nov. 11, 2025

Crudup plays 19 characters in the 80-minute performance, taking on the roles of everyone the titular confidence trickster comes into contact with.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2024

Then there was monkey-faced Hanuman, the trickster who had famously helped the god Rama in his fight against the demon king.

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi

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.