trickster

Plural: tricksters

Noun

• someone who plays practical jokes on others
• someone who leads you to believe something that is not true
• a mischievous supernatural being found in the folklore of many primitive people; sometimes distinguished by prodigious biological drives and exaggerated bodily parts
• Any of numerous figures featuring in various mythologies and folk traditions, who use guile and secret knowledge to challenge authority and play tricks and pranks on others with their acts of trickery; any similar figure in literature.
• One who plays tricks or pranks on others.
• One who performs tricks (parts of a magician act or entertainingly difficult physical actions).
• An impish or playful person.
• A fraud or cheat (person who performs a trick or hoax full of falsehoods for the purpose of unlawful gain).

Verb

• To engage in the antics of a trickster; to play tricks.

Examples

• A skilled trickster knows how to outsmart their enemies with ease.
• Our fellow trickster will perform some impressive magic tricks tonight.
• That shady trickster faked being a psychic advisor to spread misinformation and gain profit.

Synonyms

beguiler, cheat, cheater, cut-up, deceiver, hoaxer, practical joker, prankster, slicker, tricker, trepan

Related Words

confidence trickster, gadfly, jester, jokester, practical joker, prankster, three-card trickster, trick