gaffed

verb

past tense of gaff
1
as in tricked
to cause to believe what is untrue a sleazy schemer who gaffed gullible people into thinking they could get rich with a money-making opportunity

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cheated
to rob by the use of trickery or threats the operators of the traveling carnival had gaffed patrons with a variety of time-honored ruses

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gaffed
  1. tricked
  2. cheated
  3. fooled
  4. plucked
  5. deceived
  6. squeezed
  7. hustled
  8. stung
Verb
  • An impersonator may have tricked a Las Vegas nightclub last year, but those at the park Tuesday appeared convinced of their brush with Bieber.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Because you can get tricked very quickly into thinking that acting is all about me.
    — David Katz, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of tricked
Verb
  • The simple truth is that no single technology can fully address AI misuse or determine whether a student cheated.
    — Melissa Loble, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Scarlett Johansson sued you over that, alleging that Disney cheated her out of box office upside.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of cheated
Verb
  • And we will be fooled into believing that’s the best, or worst, thing comedy has to offer.
    — Christina Catherine Martinez, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The balancing act Don’t be fooled by the lack of a back-up plan.
    — Tyler Carmona, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of fooled
Verb
  • Four years later Fontaine plucked another future Hall of Famer, taking outfielder Tony Gwynn in the third round.
    — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
  • His last one was in the fourth quarter by Curry, who read the short pass and plucked it out of the air for the score.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of plucked
Verb
  • Some veterans say recruiters deceived them and Haitian authorities tortured them; their families call them scapegoats.
    — Astrid Suárez, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Some of the Colombians have long maintained that they were deceived about the mission and arrived at the home after Moïse had already been killed.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of deceived
Verb
  • Producers are already being squeezed between competing supply chains.
    — MATIAS SPEKTOR, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Brands are making more on paper and keeping less in the bank, squeezed from every side by rising ad costs, tariffs and overhead.
    — David Born, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of squeezed
Verb
  • Quickly, the house lights come up, and Lay and family are hustled backstage to get reacquainted.
    — Joan Kron, Allure, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Her mother hustled her to hospital, only for the doctors to realize Accurso’s active imagination had left her in the same predicament as Madeline’s friends.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of hustled
Verb
  • Frazier was a Black sharecropper’s son who’d overcome much hardship, and the insults stung.
    — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026
  • As solitary insects with limited aggression towards humans, the risk of getting stung is often not worth your direct interference.
    — Sean Donnelly, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of stung
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

gaffe
gaffed
gaffer
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Cite this Entry

“Gaffed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gaffed. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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