bluff Definition

bluff¹
verb

tr & intr
bluffed, bluffing
1. To deceive or try to deceive someone by pretending to be stronger, cleverer or more determined, etc than one really is.

Thesaurus: deceive, mislead, trick, fool, feign, hoodwink, bamboozle, sham.

noun

1. An act of bluffing.

Thesaurus: trick, ruse, lie, deception, pretence, subterfuge.

Idiom: bluff it out

colloq
To keep up a deception, in order to avoid a difficult or embarrassing outcome.

Idiom: call someone's bluff

To challenge or expose their bluff, by making them prove the genuineness of their claim, threat or promise, etc.

Etymology: 19c: originally used in poker, meaning to conceal (by confident behaviour) the fact that one has poor cards: from Dutch bluffen to brag or boast.

Phrasal Verb: bluff someone into or out of something

To fool or trick them into it, or into giving it up or giving it away, by bluffing.

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bluff²
adj bluffer, bluffest

1. Said of a person, character, manner, etc: rough, cheerful and honest; outspoken and hearty.
2. Usually said of a cliff or of the bow of a ship: broad, steep and upright.

noun

1. A steep cliff or high bank of ground.

Thesaurus: bank, cliff, ridge, precipice, headland, height, knoll, promontory, escarpment.

Derivative: bluffly
adverb

Derivative: bluffness
noun

Etymology: 17c in sense 2: perhaps from obsolete Dutch blaf broad or flat.