Meaning & use

ruse

noun·Advanced

A trick or deceptive strategy used to mislead or gain an advantage.

See it in a sentence

The whole invitation turned out to be a ruse to get her to the surprise party.

The spy used an elaborate ruse to slip past the guards unnoticed.

A note on using this word

Implies cleverness or cunning in the deception, often for a specific, sometimes harmless, purpose.

Words with a similar meaning

trickploystratagem

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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