as in to outwit
to get the better of through cleverness
an inexpensive security system that would likely be outsmarted by anyone with a serious interest in circumventing it
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Recent Examples of outsmart
What follows is a tense series of events as Ethan tries (and often fails) to outsmart the Traveler and prevent a terrible tragedy, all without getting his girlfriend and unborn baby killed.
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Erik Kain, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
So, enjoy the festivities, cherish the moments with loved ones, and keep these tips in mind to outsmart the scammers.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 16 Dec. 2024
Sunday outsmarted Adam and Hannah with a ruse at Tribal Council.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024
On fourth-and-1 at UCLA’s 17-yard line, quarterback Frank Tamburello outsmarted a Bruins defense expecting a sneak by pitching the ball to halfback Ed Vereb, who raced around the right end to score the game’s only touchdown on the opening series of the second half.
—Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 9 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for outsmart 
Erik Kain, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
So, enjoy the festivities, cherish the moments with loved ones, and keep these tips in mind to outsmart the scammers.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 16 Dec. 2024
Sunday outsmarted Adam and Hannah with a ruse at Tribal Council.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024
On fourth-and-1 at UCLA’s 17-yard line, quarterback Frank Tamburello outsmarted a Bruins defense expecting a sneak by pitching the ball to halfback Ed Vereb, who raced around the right end to score the game’s only touchdown on the opening series of the second half.
—Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 9 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for outsmart
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outsmart
Verb
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The Netflix series follows three families who will do just about anything to outbid — or outwit — the competition when their dream home finally goes on the market.Brande Victorian, Essence, 23 Dec. 2024
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Orgeron coaches the game shirtless and outwits Kalen DeBoer, who ditched his T-shirt for a hoodie on a chilly night in Tuscaloosa.Blake Toppmeyer, The Tennessean, 12 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The Russian Defense Ministry claimed the attack had been thwarted.Natasha Frost, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
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No sitting president pressuring a vice president to thwart the process.Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2025
Verb
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These include data poisoning, where training datasets are manipulated to compromise models, and adversarial attacks, which involve subtle input changes to deceive AI systems.Piyush Ranjan, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
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And unless my eyes deceive me, the shine is turned up to 11 thanks to shimmer in her middle part.Marci Robin, Allure, 8 Jan. 2025
Verb
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But the white population usually defeats the preferred candidate of Black voters.Cheyanne M. Daniels, The Hill, 17 Jan. 2025
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United defeated Southampton 3-1 on Thursday night thanks to Amad’s late hat-trick to move Amorim’s side up to 12th in the Premier League, but the visitors — who are 10 points from safety — caused them plenty of problems.Laurie Whitwell, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The Lunar Owls overcame a six-point deficit and ended up winning the league’s first game 84-80 after Diggins-Smith hit a game-ending 3-pointer.Sabreena Merchant, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
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Both quarterbacks, roommates at the Manning Passing Academy, overcame difficult, and certainly shocking, defeats on their way to leading Ohio State and Notre Dame, respectively, to Monday’s CFP national championship game in Atlanta.Tom Layberger, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Situated in one of the game's smallest media markets, the Padres under General Manager A.J. Preller have spent lavishly and made a series of splashy acquisitions, but keep getting outfoxed by their upstate rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers.David Faris, theweek, 5 Sep. 2024
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Here, Shyamalan has similar intentions: His movie would be nothing without Hartnett’s serial killer outfoxing his pursuers, slipping past one security barrier after another, stealing access badges willy-nilly and engineering his daughter’s onstage appearance with her idol.Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 2 Aug. 2024
Verb
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However, others have questioned how she was so easily fooled.Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 16 Jan. 2025
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The attackers disguise themselves as fake Google Ads login pages to fool advertisers, who are then phished for their account credentials.Davey Winder, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Perhaps the shape rotators are convinced that computers can outthink us because their own minds are so impoverished.Becca Rothfeld, Washington Post, 26 June 2024
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In a blog post, Google CEO Sundar Pichai predicted the technology underlying Gemini Advanced will be able to outthink even the smartest people when tackling many complex topics.Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near outsmart
Cite this Entry
“Outsmart.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outsmart. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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