Library / English Dictionary

BLUFF

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of bluffing in poker; deception by a false show of confidence in the strength of your cards

Synonyms:

bluff; four flush

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("bluff" is a kind of...):

deceit; deception; dissembling; dissimulation (the act of deceiving)

Derivation:

bluff (deceive an opponent by a bold bet on an inferior hand with the result that the opponent withdraws a winning hand)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Pretense that your position is stronger than it really is

Example:

his bluff succeeded in getting him accepted

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("bluff" is a kind of...):

dissembling; feigning; pretence; pretense (pretending with intention to deceive)

Derivation:

bluff (frighten someone by pretending to be stronger than one really is)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A high steep bank (usually formed by river erosion)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("bluff" is a kind of...):

bank (a long ridge or pile)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Bluntly direct and outspoken but good-natured

Example:

a bluff and rugged natural leader

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

direct (straightforward in means or manner or behavior or language or action)

Derivation:

bluffness (good-natured frankness)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Very steep; having a prominent and almost vertical front

Example:

a sheer descent of rock

Synonyms:

bluff; bold; sheer

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

steep (having a sharp inclination)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Frighten someone by pretending to be stronger than one really is

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "bluff" is one way to...):

affright; fright; frighten; scare (cause fear in)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something

Sentence example:

Sam cannot bluff Sue

Derivation:

bluff (pretense that your position is stronger than it really is)

bluffer (a person who tries to bluff other people)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Deceive an opponent by a bold bet on an inferior hand with the result that the opponent withdraws a winning hand

Synonyms:

bluff; bluff out

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "bluff" is one way to...):

go; move (have a turn; make one's move in a game)

Domain category:

card game; cards (a game played with playing cards)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

bluff (the act of bluffing in poker; deception by a false show of confidence in the strength of your cards)

bluffer (a person who tries to bluff other people)

Credits

 Context examples: 

I saw her innocently kiss her chosen husband on the cheek, and creep close to his bluff form as if it were her best support.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A bluff cape to the north and a long spit to the south marked the mouth of the noble river, with a low-lying island of silted sand in the centre, all shrouded and curtained by the spume of the breakers.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The bluff, said Holmes sternly, is upon your side, Dr. Leon Sterndale, and not upon mine.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But if it was a bluff he intended, it did not work.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

“Oh! That bluff fellow!” said Steerforth.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Where the river swung in against precipitous bluffs, he climbed the high mountains behind.

(White Fang, by Jack London)