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

When Ghostface dismisses Gale as “an old irrelevant hag,” there’s no way of telling if that Gen Z dis is a hint, a feint or a mistake.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026

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

From Salon ● Feb. 26, 2025

"They shall not cross, Cat," Edmure scrawled, "Lord Tywin is marching to the southeast. A feint perhaps, or full retreat, it matters not. They shall not cross."

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

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

The narrative is less sucker punch than brilliant feints and jabs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2025

Marcus feints left with his scim, and when Helene counters, he grins.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

Kvaratskhelia feinted to run in behind, then dropped short, then looked to run in behind, dropped short again before eventually running in behind.

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

Elmas feinted past Mamadou Coulibaly on the left side of the area before curling into the far bottom corner.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 4, 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

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

A small diversionary force feinted northward toward Bursa.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

The fight started with the Briton pushing forward, as he would throughout the following 25 minutes, feinting and landing leg kicks, while chants of "Colby, Colby" rung out around the arena.

From BBC ● Dec. 17, 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

So she flourished it, feinting to right and left, not intending to hit him at all, and he didn’t move.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman