strung along
Kept falsely hoping
To string someone along is to keep them waiting or hoping without real intention of delivering—leading them on with vague promises or false encouragement.
He strung her along for months, hinting at marriage but never proposing.
Someone who has been strung along was deceived this way, kept dangling.
- lead onFalsely encourage someone's hopes
- misleadCause false belief
- gaslightDistort someone's reality
- deceiveCause false belief
- stallEnclosed compartment or delay
led on · betray · hoodwink · manipulate · jerked around · bamboozle · trick · played for a fool · run around · wild goose chase · postpone · breadcrumb · delay · exploit · con · tease · dupe · procrastinate