1
as in ruse
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
her husband used every trick in the book to get out of appearing in his parish's fashion show
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2
as in prank
a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke
thought that gluing the silver dollar to the floor and watching him struggle to pick it up would be a good trick
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3
as in ritual
a usual manner of behaving or doing
that deadbeat is up to his usual tricks: once again he's claiming the check is in the mail
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4
as in feat
an act of notable skill, strength, or cleverness
it'd be quite a trick to hit that target from here
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5
as in trait
an odd or peculiar habit
a dog with the trick of eating cabbage
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to deceive
to cause to believe what is untrue
you tricked me into thinking my ex wasn't coming to the party tonight
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in tricky
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of trick
Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 7 Jan. 2026
That has been a new trick for the Chicago Bulls this season.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026
Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 29 Dec. 2025
Kids can trick-or-treat at Calico Ghost Town shops and businesses before the sun falls and ghouls fill the park.
—Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 29 Dec. 2025
Jennifer Jolly, USA TODAY, 28 Oct. 2021
And arguably, given the variety of cask types used by the distillery, Angel’s Envy is actually a multi-trick pony.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 11 June 2021
See All Example Sentences for trick
Noun
María Zardoya played her debut show under her solo project Not For Radio with a few tricks up her sleeve.
—Verb
Accountancy has seen several cheating scandals in recent years, with the Big Four firms hit with multimillion-dollar fines after staff tricked internal exams, but the sector is far from alone.
—Adjective
If the high cost of it all is more trick than treat for you, here are several ways to turn your already smart home into a spook-tacularly genius haunted house.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for trick
Noun
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The New York Colored American reported that some offers of short-term work for Black men — moving livestock to or from Kentucky, for example — were ruses that ended with kidnappings.—
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Odysseus, the Ithacan warrior who is as celebrated for craftiness as Achilles is for brute strength, devises a clever ruse in which the Greeks place a giant wooden horse outside Troy’s walls and pretend to sail away.—
Noun
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Rose also likes pulling lighthearted pranks to make others laugh.—
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Based on Agatha Christie’s thrilling mystery, the upcoming Netflix series of the same name is a detective story about a sleuth who investigates a prank gone tragically wrong.—
Noun
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Mount Hora may have been a natural monument, memorial or place where people returned to share cultural rituals — even generations after the cremation, Sawchuk said.—
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Michelle Buteau doesn’t believe in perfect mornings, spotless sweatpants, or rigid holiday rituals.—
Noun
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But the feat came at a painful price, both physically and financially.—
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The feat was achieved by radiochemistry experts at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) recently.—
Noun
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By examining liver cells as the disease progressed, researchers saw that healthy liver functions slowly shut down and survival traits took over.—
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The Louisville transfer features the size (6-6, 325), length and explosive traits NFL defensive coordinators covet and QBs usually lose sleep over.—
Verb
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To keep the most vulnerable safe, Ivan has to decide to confront the soldiers or deceive them at the potential cost of his life.—
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Relying Too Much On Garbage Disposals Though the name may be deceiving, garbage disposals aren’t actually designed to dispose of all garbage.—
Adjective
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Finding the right shade can be surprisingly tricky.—
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That’s been a tricky one to try and get right without being heavy-handed and being fair to everyone on both sides of that conversation.—
Noun
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Sammis runs a pro-style scheme that prioritizes a strong run game and being efficient with the passing attack.—
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Williamson, Newsom’s former chief of staff, pleaded not guilty in November in a scheme to enrich her friend Sean McCluskie, a longtime deputy to former Attorney General Xavier Becerra, using money funneled from one of Becerra’s dormant campaign accounts.—
Cite this Entry
“Trick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trick. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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