outwit
Best through cleverness
To outwit someone is to defeat them through cleverness rather than force—to be smarter or more cunning than an opponent.
The word implies a contest of minds where quick thinking prevails: The fox outwitted the hounds.
You can outwit a rival, a security system, or your own bad habits.
Deliberate deception
- deceiveCause false belief
- dupeDeceive or victim
- hoodwinkTrick into false belief
- bamboozleDeceive through cunning
mislead · con · bluff · fool · feint · hoax · swindle · fraud
Defeat by cleverness
- bestHighest in quality
- defeatVictory over another
- overcomePrevail against difficulty
- prevailTo succeed ultimately
triumph · vanquish · outdo · beat · thwart · foil · elude · escape
Practically clever, perceptive
- astuteMentally sharp, discerning
- craftyCleverly deceptive
- wilySkilled at deception
- slyCleverly deceptive
clever · canny · artful · scheming · calculating · devious · guile · fox
trick
Deliberate deception
bamboozle · mislead · con · bluff · fool · feint · hoax · swindle · fraud · cheat
outfox
Defeat by cleverness
prevail · triumph · vanquish · outdo · beat · thwart · foil · elude · escape · evade
shrewd
Practically clever, perceptive
sly · clever · canny · artful · scheming · calculating · devious · guile · fox · sharp
outmaneuver
Defeat through superior tactics
- outplayDefeat through superior performance
- schemeCalculated strategy, often secretive
- ployCalculated deceptive tactic
gambit · tactics · chess · mastermind · gameplan · countermove · checkmate · stratagem · ambush · trap