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

There is no strict definition of a stutter, but under Fifa rules, a player is allowed to stop or feint during the run-up as long as they don't do it directly before kicking the ball.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2024

It's a feint, an effort to scare his opponents into believing his ascension is unstoppable, so they stop fighting him.

From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2023

Jethro had been half beside himself as he watched the young master feint and parry and finally knock his opponent flat on the frozen ground of the schoolyard.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt

War is filled with flopping, feints and trickery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 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

He cites improvements in "footwork, defence, staying calm on fight night", adding that experience has allowed him to put combinations, body work and feints together more naturally.

From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2025

During the next round, he was spinning David around with his footwork, working feints into elaborate movement patterns to leave David confused.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2023

The stride length, the quickness of the foot feints, all clearly revealed to his unfailing eye, made him reassess his second conclusion.

From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman

The Italian was 0.3secs behind the McLaren crossing the line into the last lap, but although he feinted a move into Tarzan, he was not close enough to make it work.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

Politano turned provider two minutes before halftime as he sent Kvaratskhelia down the left and the winger cut inside, feinted and then squeezed a shot between Verona goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipò and the near post.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 21, 2023

Juventus turned the match around completely two minutes later when Vlahović ran onto a through-ball and into the area and feinted his way past Inter defender Danilo D’Ambrosio.

From Seattle Times ● May 11, 2022

The Atlanta Hawks guard feinted left and then crossed over sharply to his right, settling into a comfortable pocket between two frozen Milwaukee Bucks defenders.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 24, 2021

Anastasia feinted at me, hurling sticks and leaves and dirt and whatever else she could manage to grab.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

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

The senior pulled out to the elbow before feinting right, going left, dusting her defender and streaking to the goal.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 27, 2023

They envision themselves bobbing and weaving, triangulating and feinting — filling the air with meaningless cliches so that no one knows where they stand and no one can hold them accountable.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 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

Jabbing and feinting, he edged sideways, putting the fire between them once more.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver