befool
Trick into foolishness
To befool is to make a fool of someone—to deceive or dupe them.
The word is archaic and literary, appearing mainly in older texts: He sought to befool the king with false promises.
Modern English would typically use fool, trick, or deceive instead.
Trick into false belief
- dupeDeceive or victim
- trickDeliberate deception
- misleadCause false belief
- bamboozleDeceive through cunning
delude · cozen · beguile · defraud · swindle · con · hoax · scam
Innocently unsuspecting
- credulousProne to blind trust
- trustingInclined to believe others
- unsuspectingNot anticipating danger
- gullibleEasily deceived
unwary · ingenuous · green · impressionable · exploitable · unworldly · simple · innocent
Deceive or victim
- suckerEasily fooled person
- markVisible impression or sign
- patsyEasily deceived victim
- pigeonStout urban bird
stooge · gull · fall guy · easy mark · chump · sap · mug · target
hoodwink
Trick into false belief
bamboozle · delude · cozen · beguile · defraud · swindle · con · hoax · scam · flimflam
naive
Innocently unsuspecting
- credulousProne to blind trust
- trustingInclined to believe others
- unsuspectingNot anticipating danger
gullible · unwary · ingenuous · green · impressionable · exploitable · unworldly · simple · innocent · artless
dupe
Deceive or victim
pigeon · stooge · gull · fall guy · easy mark · chump · sap · mug · target · pushover
ridicule
Contemptuous mocking treatment
taunt · jeer · scorn · deride · lampoon · prank · jest · jape · clown · buffoon
trickery
Deliberate deception or fraud
- guileSly, strategic dishonesty
- wilesDeceptive stratagems
- craftinessShrewd, devious cleverness
slyness · deceit · artifice · subterfuge · chicanery · duplicity · ruse · stratagem · ploy · gambit