bluffer

UK: /ˈblʌfəʳ/

From bluff (adj):

bluffer

adj comparative

bluffest

adj superlative

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

bluff¹ /blʌf/   adj., -er, -est, n. 
adj. 

1. good-naturedly direct, blunt, or frank:
   a bluff way of speaking that is refreshing.
2. Geology presenting a bold, broad, and very steep front:
   a bluff cliff.

n. [countable]

3. Geology, Geography a cliff, headland, or hill with a broad, steep face:
   leaning carefully out over the bluffs.

bluff•ness, n. 

[uncountable] [His bluffness is just an act* he's really very sneaky.]

bluff² /blʌf/   v. 

1. to mislead or deceive (someone) by putting on a bold front: [~ + object]
   Don't try to bluff me; I know all your tricks.
   [no object]
   [He's bluffing* I'm sure he can't overrule you.]
2. [~ + object] to achieve by bluffing:
   I tried to bluff my way into the job.
3. Games to deceive (an opponent in poker) by betting heavily on a weak hand: [no object]
   [I think you're bluffing, so I'll meet your bet.]
   [~ + object]
   [He tried to bluff me with a pair of two's.]

n. 

4. an act or instance of bluffing:
   [countable] It's just a bluff to get me to show what I know.
   [uncountable] I think his scare tactics are just bluff.
5. a person who bluffs;
   bluffer:
   [countable] He's just a bluff.

Idioms

6. Idioms call someone's bluff, to challenge someone to carry out a threat:
   If she thinks she can threaten us with firing us all, I think it's time we called her bluff.

bluff•er, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bluff¹  (bluf ), adj., -er, -est, n. 
adj. 

1. good-naturedly direct, blunt, or frank;
   heartily outspoken:
   a big, bluff, generous man.
2. Geology presenting a bold and nearly perpendicular front, as a coastline:
   a bluff, precipitous headland.
3. Naval Terms [Naut.] (of the bow of a vessel) having a full, blunt form.

n. 

4. Geology, Geography a cliff, headland, or hill with a broad, steep face.
5. Dialect Terms, Geography, British Terms [North Dakota, Wisconsin, and the Canadian Prairie Provinces.] a clump or grove of trees on a prairie or other generally treeless area.

• Middle Dutch blaf broad, flat
• Middle Low German blaff smooth, even, or
• perh. 1620–30

bluff′ly, adv. 
bluff′ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. forthright, open, honest; rough, crude. See blunt. 
• 2. abrupt, steep.

Antonyms

• 1. subtle.

bluff²  (bluf ), v.t. 

1. to mislead by a display of strength, self-confidence, or the like:
   He bluffed me into believing that he was a doctor.
2. to gain by bluffing:
   He bluffed his way into the job.
3. Games [Poker.] to deceive by a show of confidence in the strength of one's cards.

v.i. 

4. to mislead someone by presenting a bold, strong, or self-confident front:
   That open face makes it impossible for him to bluff.

n. 

5. an act or instance or the practice of bluffing:
   Her pathetic story was all a bluff to get money from us. His assertive manner is mostly bluff.
6. a person who bluffs;
   bluffer:
   That big bluff doesn't have a nickel to his name.
7. Idioms call someone's bluff, to expose a person's deception;
   challenge someone to carry out a threat:
   He always said he would quit, so we finally called his bluff.

• Low German bluffen to bluster, frighten; akin to Middle Dutch bluffen to make a trick at cards
• perh. 1665–75

bluff′a•ble, adj. 
bluff′er, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. deceive, fool, dupe, delude, hoodwink.