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DictionaryruseDeceptive trick
noun

ruse

ROOZ/ruːz/

A trick intended to deceive someone.

The empty box behind the curtain is part of a ruse.

An adult hides a small empty decoy box behind a curtain while directing another person toward it with an innocent smile, deliberate trick clear without words.
Etymology
ruseOld Frenchevasive movement; trick

The Old French word joined evasive movement with trickery. English initially used it for a hunted animal’s dodging movements, before broadening it to a deceptive trick or strategy.

In context

Our Cinema Romance8:22
they bring him in under the ruse of a grant but then he realizes that this is not like some Grant application interview
The Artifice Girl part 1 | Our Cinema Romance

More examples

  • She pretends to lose her keys as a ruse to delay our departure.
  • His offer to help is a ruse to gain access to the files.
  • Their elaborate ruses fool no one.

Forms

ruse · ruses

deception noun — The act of misleading or fooling someone.

Similar words

trick
A broader term that also covers pranks and clever techniques.
ploy
A tactic for gaining an advantage, not necessarily through deception.
stratagem
A carefully planned maneuver, often more elaborate than a ruse.