US /blʌf/ UK /blʌf/
verb noun adj

Meanings

  1. 1
    verb

    to deceive by pretending confidence or strength; a steep cliff

    He decided to bluff his way through the interview.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 verb · to deceive by pretending... deceivefeignpretendblusterfakemisleadcliffheadland
Word family
Derived forms blufferbluffing

Etymology

The 'deceive' sense is from Dutch bluffen ('to brag, boast'), via American poker slang of the 19th century. The 'steep cliff' sense and the adjective 'broad, frank' are probably also of Dutch nautical origin (blaf, 'flat, broad').

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