Link Centre Dictionary

hoodwink

hood·wink

UK/ˈhʊdwɪŋk/ US/ˈhʊdˌwɪŋk/ uncommon archaic obsolete rare uk

verb

1.
2.

conceal one''s true motives from especially by elaborately feigning good intentions so as to gain an end

  • “He bamboozled his professors into thinking that he knew the subject well”
Synonyms

Origin

The verb is derived from hood (“head covering attached to a larger garment such as a jacket or cloak”) + wink (“to close one’s eyes”). (< C16 'to blindfold'). The noun is derived from the verb.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.