Thesaurus results for FEINT

Q: How is the word 'feint' different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of feint are artifice , maneuver , ruse , stratagem , trick , and wile . While all these words mean "an indirect means to gain an end," feint implies a diversion or distraction of attention away from one's real intent. // a feint toward the enemy's left flank

Q: In what contexts can 'artifice' take the place of 'feint'?

The meanings of artifice and feint largely overlap; however, artifice implies ingenious contrivance or invention. // the clever artifices of the stage

Q: When might 'maneuver' be a better fit than 'feint'?

While the synonyms maneuver and feint are close in meaning, maneuver suggests adroit and skillful avoidance of difficulty. // last-minute maneuvers to avert bankruptcy

Q: When could 'ruse' be used to replace 'feint'?

The words ruse and feint are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, ruse stresses an attempt to mislead by a false impression. // the ruses of smugglers

Q: When is it sensible to use 'stratagem' instead of 'feint'?

In some situations, the words stratagem and feint are roughly equivalent. However, stratagem implies a ruse used to entrap, outwit, circumvent, or surprise an opponent or enemy. // the stratagem -filled game

Q: When can 'trick' be used instead of 'feint'?

The words trick and feint can be used in similar contexts, but trick may imply deception, roguishness, illusion, and either an evil or harmless end. // the tricks of the trade

Q: Where would 'wile' be a reasonable alternative to 'feint'?

The synonyms wile and feint are sometimes interchangeable, but wile suggests an attempt to entrap or deceive with false allurements. // used all of his wiles to ingratiate himself

feint 1 of 2

noun

Definition of feint next

as in bluff

sports a quick movement that you make to trick an opponent The boxer made a feint with his right, then followed with a left hook.

Synonyms & Similar Words

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feint

2 of 2

verb

as in to bluff

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word feint different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of feint are artifice, maneuver, ruse, stratagem, trick, and wile. While all these words mean "an indirect means to gain an end," feint implies a diversion or distraction of attention away from one's real intent.

a feint toward the enemy's left flank

In what contexts can artifice take the place of feint?

The meanings of artifice and feint largely overlap; however, artifice implies ingenious contrivance or invention.

the clever artifices of the stage

When might maneuver be a better fit than feint?

While the synonyms maneuver and feint are close in meaning, maneuver suggests adroit and skillful avoidance of difficulty.

last-minute maneuvers to avert bankruptcy

When could ruse be used to replace feint?

The words ruse and feint are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, ruse stresses an attempt to mislead by a false impression.

the ruses of smugglers

When is it sensible to use stratagem instead of feint?

In some situations, the words stratagem and feint are roughly equivalent. However, stratagem implies a ruse used to entrap, outwit, circumvent, or surprise an opponent or enemy.

the stratagem-filled game

When can trick be used instead of feint?

The words trick and feint can be used in similar contexts, but trick may imply deception, roguishness, illusion, and either an evil or harmless end.

the tricks of the trade

Where would wile be a reasonable alternative to feint?

The synonyms wile and feint are sometimes interchangeable, but wile suggests an attempt to entrap or deceive with false allurements.

used all of his wiles to ingratiate himself

Examples Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of feint

Noun

There is, of course, no mandate that Rooney populate the landscape of her fiction with fat bodies as some kind of feint toward inclusion, even if those bodies do happen to comprise almost half the US population. —

Emma Specter, Vogue, 24 Sep. 2024 But the murder mystery-style opening is something of a feint. —

Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Verb

The show also feints at a proper whodunnit, then builds to a nuanced, if anticlimactic conclusion, and all at a lazy river’s pace. —

Joshua Alston, Variety, 26 Apr. 2023 What’s more, Susan Neuman told me, some clever members of the sixty per cent may be able to feint their way through books for early readers, and so the true extent of their lack of decoding skills may not emerge until as late as third grade. —

Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 1 Sep. 2022 See all Example Sentences for feint

Recent Examples of Synonyms for feint

Noun

The main home on a large bluff overlooks the Sulphur River and the approximate 2,800 tillable acres and the 400 acres of pasture ideal for grazing livestock.

Alexis Simmerman, Austin American-Statesman, 17 Dec. 2024
Perched atop a windswept bluff, this Victorian Gothic beauty has been guiding mariners since 1890.

Cliff Lewis, Orange County Register, 13 Dec. 2024