feint

But this is all a feint: The movie sets you up for one thing and then delivers another.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Was the "two-week deadline" for negotations a feint?

From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2025

Perhaps this is a feint in some grand art of the deal.

From Salon ● Feb. 26, 2025

On a metatextual level, the show is itself a masterful feint.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2024

If I were khal, I would feint at Selhorys, let the Volan- tenes rush to defend it, then swing south and ride hard for Volantis itself.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

War is filled with flopping, feints and trickery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

An "inverted winger", he attacks from wide on the right flank but then cuts inside, using body feints and rapid shifts in pace to dribble past defenders and shoot with his stronger left foot.

From BBC ● May 22, 2026

It was the culmination of a series of feints and bluffs in the preceding hours and days as the former reality TV star kept the world guessing.

From Barron's ● Feb. 28, 2026

The film’s feints and twists are fabulous as they explore how the internet’s promise has soured.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026

He made two half-hearted feints toward the basket, hoping to catch Ben off balance and get an unchallenged set shot.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

The fight begun with both athletes showing patience as Volkanovski feinted and switched stances, while Makhachev looked for openings.

From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2023

At the end of the first half, Brown feinted a drive that rocked Ute defender Both Gach off balance before stepping back for a contested 22-foot three-pointer that splashed through the net as time expired.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 2, 2022

Lang hammered his entrance like the first hard few drops of an incoming storm and just as quickly feinted into an airy, gentle touch, from the ground to the clouds in an instant.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 19, 2021

Then, Quinn feinted inside and broke toward the left pylon, where McCoy found him for a completion.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 7, 2018

Billy backed off, feinted once, jabbed, feinted again, twice, disregarded completely a right thrown by Vegas as he prepared a series of blows to the body and head.

From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers

Bud snaked his way inside, feinting in the middle distance and eating some shots on the way in — but nothing that rattled him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2023

Salesses knows exactly how to get these giants pounding up and down the court — pivoting, feinting, shooting!

From Washington Post ● Jan. 11, 2023

Moore for a 10-yard score — a pass made possible by Newton stepping up in the pocket, feinting a scramble to draw in the safety to leave Moore open.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 21, 2021

First, Turnbull slipped after feinting to play the ball out in his own box, and that allowed Mitchel Bakker to square for Hincapie to sweep home the opener on 25 minutes.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2021

He was oversimplifying here, skittering off there, dodging and feinting.

From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee