Meaning & use
ruse
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A clever plan or trick meant to fool someone so that you can get what you want.
Grammar: Countable: a clever ruse, several ruses.
Patterns
- a ruse to do something
- use a ruse
- fall for a ruse
He pretended to be lost as a ruse to get inside the building.
The sale was just a ruse to collect customers' email addresses.
The children's illness was a ruse to avoid the test.
nouncountable
A false excuse or cover story used to hide the real reason for doing something.
Grammar: Countable and often followed by to do something: a ruse to leave early.
Patterns
- a ruse to do something
- a ruse for something
Her headache was a ruse to leave the party early.
Investigators believed the charity was a ruse for fraud.
The surprise party required a ruse to keep her away from home.
Word forms
| plural | ruses |
|---|
Common combinations
- an elaborate ruse
- The thieves carried out an elaborate ruse involving fake uniforms.
- a clever ruse
- It was a clever ruse to draw the guards away.
- fall for a ruse
- The shopkeeper fell for the ruse and handed over the keys.
- a ruse to get
- He used a ruse to get an invitation.
- see through a ruse
- I saw through the ruse straight away.
Synonyms and how they differ
- trick
- Trick is the everyday word and may be playful, while ruse sounds more cunning and planned.
- ploy
- Ploy is a tactic aimed at gaining an advantage, especially in business or politics, and it is very close to ruse.
- subterfuge
- Subterfuge is formal and covers deceit in general, often over a long period, whereas a ruse is a particular device.
- scheme
- Scheme is a bigger, organized plan that may be honest or dishonest, while ruse is always a deception.
Opposites
Word family
- ruse de guerre noun
- a trick used in war to confuse the enemy
- ruses noun
- plural form
Commonly confused: ruse or rues / ruse? ruse or ruse vs ruze?
ruse vs rues / ruse
Ruse is pronounced like the plural rues or the word ruse's verb-like sound /ruːz/, but it has no connection with rue, which means to regret.
ruse vs ruse vs ruze
The word is spelled ruse; ruze is a misspelling.
Practice
The phone call about a missing package was just a ____ to get her to reveal her bank details.
Choose one answer.
A ruse is a trick designed to deceive. Route is a path, rouse means to wake or stir, and ruin means destroy.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ruse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.