Outwit
v.capable, thoughtfulplayful
What it means
To overcome a person or difficulty through quicker or more inventive thinking.
Reach for it when describing clever success that avoids force
The gardeners used reflective tape to outwit the birds without harming them.
Choose between these
6- playful
outfox
resourceful cunning suits a light story
not when Outfox is too jaunty for formal analysis.
- everyday
superior thinking wins
not when Outsmart may sound boastful when tact matters.
- everyday
trick
deception produces the result
not when Trick can be dishonest; outwitting may be legitimate.
- professional
circumvent
an obstacle is bypassed
not when Circumvent may imply evading a proper rule.
- formal
foil
a harmful plan is prevented
not when Foil concerns stopping, not overall cleverness.
- formal
better positioning defeats an opponent
not when Outmaneuver stresses tactics more than insight.
Said against
3- be fooled
- be outsmarted
- miscalculate
It naturally appears in
3- outwit an opponent
The young player learned to outwit an opponent without rushing.
- outwit the problem
A gravity-fed tank helped the village outwit the power problem.
- cleverly outwit
The story's rabbit can cleverly outwit every larger animal.
Where this comes from
- wiktionary, English verb sense: defeat by superior cleverness opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.