To hoodwink someone means to trick or deceive them in a clever way. The word suggests fooling someone so completely that they don't realize what's happening until it's too late.

A con artist might hoodwink tourists into paying too much for fake souvenirs. A clever student might try to hoodwink their teacher with an elaborate excuse for missing homework. In the classic story The Emperor's New Clothes, two swindlers hoodwink an entire kingdom into believing invisible cloth is real.

Unlike a harmless magic trick that entertains, hoodwinking usually involves taking advantage of someone's trust or confusion.

When you've been hoodwinked, you might feel foolish for not seeing through the deception. A friend who agrees to trade their valuable baseball card for worthless ones has been hoodwinked. It's worth thinking carefully before trusting offers that seem too good to be true.