ruse

A trick or plan used to make someone believe something untrue.

• It was a clever ruse.
• They used a ruse to get past the guards.
• She saw through his ruse immediately.

How to use it: a ruse to do something (The false alarm was a ruse to distract the guards.)

Similar words: trick, ploy, stratagem

Common phrases: clever ruse, ruse to escape, use a ruse

Skill in deceiving people to get what you want.

• He relied on ruse rather than strength.
• The enemy was defeated through ruse and patience.
• Her talent for ruse made her a dangerous rival.

Similar words: cunning, guile, trickery

Opposites: honesty

Common phrases: by ruse, ruse and cunning, through ruse