outwitting
Beating through cunning
Outwitting is defeating someone through cleverness rather than force—staying one step ahead, anticipating their moves, exploiting their weaknesses.
The word implies a contest of minds where cunning prevails: The fox kept outwitting the hounds.
You can outwit an opponent, a system, or even fate itself.
Enemy in conflict
- opponentOne who contends against
- nemesisPersistent source of ruin
- competitorOne striving against others
- foeHostile opponent
antagonist · challenger · one-upmanship · besting · defeating · triumphing · vanquishing · prevailing
Keen practical judgment
- clevernessMental quickness and skill
- astutenessShrewd perceptiveness
- craftinessShrewd, devious cleverness
- slynessCunning in manner
foxiness · guile · artfulness · wiliness · deviousness · canniness · sharpness · savvy
Methods to achieve goals
- maneuveringSkillful directional control
- planningArranging for future events
- schemingCrafty and calculating
- plottingDevising a secret plan
calculating · outmaneuvering · outflanking · outplaying · countermoves · positioning · anticipation · foresight
Deliberate deception or fraud
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- deceitDeliberate misleading of others
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
- ruseDeliberate act of deception
artifice · chicanery · sleight · misdirection · bamboozling · hoodwinking · fooling · duping
Mental ability, cognitive capacity
- brillianceExceptional intelligence or luster
- geniusPerson of rare brilliance
- acumenSharpness of mind
- insightDeep perceptive understanding
reasoning · analysis · discernment · perception · wisdom · problem-solving · deduction · inference
adversary
Enemy in conflict
- opponentOne who contends against
- nemesisPersistent source of ruin
- competitorOne striving against others
foe · antagonist · challenger · one-upmanship · besting · defeating · triumphing · vanquishing · prevailing · overcoming
shrewdness
Keen practical judgment
- clevernessMental quickness and skill
- astutenessShrewd perceptiveness
- craftinessShrewd, devious cleverness
slyness · foxiness · guile · artfulness · wiliness · deviousness · canniness · sharpness · savvy · quick-wittedness
tactics
Methods to achieve goals
- maneuveringSkillful directional control
- planningArranging for future events
- schemingCrafty and calculating
plotting · calculating · outmaneuvering · outflanking · outplaying · countermoves · positioning · anticipation · foresight · gambits
trickery
Deliberate deception or fraud
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- deceitDeliberate misleading of others
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
ruse · artifice · chicanery · sleight · misdirection · bamboozling · hoodwinking · fooling · duping · conning
intelligence
Mental ability, cognitive capacity
- brillianceExceptional intelligence or luster
- geniusPerson of rare brilliance
- acumenSharpness of mind
insight · reasoning · analysis · discernment · perception · wisdom · problem-solving · deduction · inference · cognition
- cunningcunning, craftiness, crafty, guile, slyness
- Tricksterstrickster, mischief-maker, Loki, rascal, Anansi
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- evasionevasion, avoiding, avoids, evade, dodging
- outperformingsurpassing, exceeding, excelling, outperforming, outdoing
- feintsfeint, fake, juke, deke, head fake
outwittingoverpowering
Too intense to withstand
brute-forcing · strong-arming · bulldozing · forcing · bludgeoning
wit, witness, witty, nitwit, dimwit, outwit, witless, witticism, quick-witted