Adjacent Words

Bluff definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BLUFF, a. [Eng.leap, from shooting forward.]surly; blustering.
BLUFF, n. A high bank, almost perpendicular, projecting into the sea; a high bank presenting a steep front.
BLUFF'-BOWED, a. [bluff and bow.] Having broad and flat bows.
BLUFF'-HEADED, a. [bluff and head.] Having an upright stem.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: very steep; having a prominent and almost vertical front; "a bluff headland"; "where the bold chalk cliffs of England rise"; "a sheer descent of rock" [syn: bluff, bold, sheer]
2: bluntly direct and outspoken but good-natured; "a bluff but pleasant manner"; "a bluff and rugged natural leader" n
1: a high steep bank (usually formed by river erosion)
2: pretense that your position is stronger than it really is; "his bluff succeeded in getting him accepted"
3: the act of bluffing in poker; deception by a false show of confidence in the strength of your cards [syn: bluff, four flush] v
1: deceive an opponent by a bold bet on an inferior hand with the result that the opponent withdraws a winning hand [syn: bluff, bluff out]
2: frighten someone by pretending to be stronger than one really is

Merriam Webster's

geographical name town S New Zealand; port for Invercargill population 2720

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: obsolete Dutch blaf flat; akin to Middle Low German blaff smooth Date: 1627 1. a. having a broad flattened front b. rising steeply with a broad flat or rounded front 2. good-naturedly frank and outspoken • bluffly adverb • bluffness noun Synonyms: bluff, blunt, brusque, curt, crusty, gruff mean abrupt and unceremonious in speech and manner. bluff connotes good-natured outspokenness and unconventionality <a bluff manner>. blunt suggests directness of expression in disregard of others' feelings <a blunt appraisal>. brusque applies to a sharpness or ungraciousness <a brusque response>. curt implies disconcerting shortness or rude conciseness <a curt command>. crusty suggests a harsh or surly manner sometimes concealing an inner kindliness <a crusty exterior>. gruff suggests a hoarse or husky speech which may imply bad temper but more often implies embarrassment or shyness <puts on a gruff pose>. II. noun Date: 1666 a high steep bank ; cliff III. verb Etymology: probably from Dutch bluffen to boast, play a kind of card game Date: 1791 transitive verb 1. a. to deter or frighten by pretense or a mere show of strength b. deceive c. feign <the catcher bluffed a throw to first> 2. to deceive (an opponent) in cards by a bold bet on an inferior hand intransitive verb to bluff someone ; act deceptively • bluffer noun IV. noun Date: 1845 1. a. an act or instance of bluffing b. the practice of bluffing 2. one who bluffs

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v. & n. --v. 1 intr. make a pretence of strength or confidence to gain an advantage. 2 tr. mislead by bluffing. --n. an act of bluffing; a show of confidence or assertiveness intended to deceive. Phrases and idioms: call a person's bluff challenge a person thought to be bluffing. Derivatives: bluffer n. Etymology: 19th c. (orig. in poker) f. Du. bluffen brag 2. adj. & n. --adj. 1 (of a cliff, or a ship's bows) having a vertical or steep broad front. 2 (of a person or manner) blunt, frank, hearty. --n. a steep cliff or headland. Derivatives: bluffly adv. (in sense 2 of adj.). bluffness n. (in sense 2 of adj.). Etymology: 17th-c. Naut. word: orig. unkn.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bluff Bluff, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bluffed; p. pr. & vb. n. Bluffing.] 1. (Poker) To deter (an opponent) from taking the risk of betting on his hand of cards, as the bluffer does by betting heavily on his own hand although it may be of less value. [U. S.] 2. To frighten or deter from accomplishing a purpose by making a show of confidence in one's strength or resources; as, he bluffed me off. [Colloq.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bluff Bluff, v. i. To act as in the game of bluff.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bluff Bluff, a. [Cf. OD. blaf flat, broad, blaffaert one with a broad face, also, a boaster; or G. verbl["u]ffen to confuse, LG. bluffen to frighten; to unknown origin.] 1. Having a broad, flattened front; as, the bluff bows of a ship. ``Bluff visages.'' --Irving. 2. Rising steeply with a flat or rounded front. ``A bluff or bold shore.'' --Falconer. Its banks, if not really steep, had a bluff and precipitous aspect. --Judd. 3. Surly; churlish; gruff; rough. 4. Abrupt; roughly frank; unceremonious; blunt; brusque; as, a bluff answer; a bluff manner of talking; a bluff sea captain. ``Bluff King Hal.'' --Sir W. Scott. There is indeed a bluff pertinacity which is a proper defense in a moment of surprise. --I. Taylor.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bluff Bluff, n. 1. A high, steep bank, as by a river or the sea, or beside a ravine or plain; a cliff with a broad face. Beach, bluff, and wave, adieu. --Whittier. 2. An act of bluffing; an expression of self-confidence for the purpose of intimidation; braggadocio; as, that is only bluff, or a bluff. 3. A game at cards; poker. [U.S.] --Bartlett.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(bluffs, bluffing, bluffed) 1. A bluff is an attempt to make someone believe that you will do something when you do not really intend to do it. It is essential to build up the military option and show that this is not a bluff... What we're at here is a game of bluff. N-VAR see also double bluff 2. If you call someone's bluff, you tell them to do what they have been threatening to do, because you are sure that they will not really do it. The Socialists have decided to call the opposition's bluff. PHRASE: V inflects 3. If you bluff, you make someone believe that you will do something when you do not really intend to do it, or that you know something when you do not really know it. Either side, or both, could be bluffing... In each case the hijackers bluffed the crew using fake grenades... VERB: V, V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Broad and full, hearty and open. (Said of the countenance.) 2. Rough and hearty, blunt and frank, roughly good-natured. 3. Steep, abrupt, precipitous, like a bluff. II. n. Precipitous bank (especially on the margin of a river or the sea).

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

Fierce, surly. He looked as bluff as bull beef.

Moby Thesaurus

Herod, abrupt, act, act a part, acting, affable, affect, affectation, aggressive, appearance, approachable, artful dodge, artifice, artless, assume, attitudinizing, bag of tricks, bamboozle, barefaced, bearish, beastly, beguile, betray, biggety, blagueur, blatherskite, blind, bluff off, bluffer, bluffing, blunt, blunt-edged, blunt-ended, blunt-pointed, blunted, bluntish, bluster, bluster and bluff, blusterer, blustering, boastfulness, boasting, bold, bombast, born yesterday, bosey, bounce, brag, braggart, bragging, brash, bravado, bravo, breakneck, brief, broad, brusque, bucko, bullshit, bully, bullyboy, bullying, bustle, cajole, candid, catch, cavalier, charlatan, cheat on, cheating, cheeky, chicanery, childlike, chouse, churlish, chutzpadik, circumvent, cliff, cocky, color, coloring, confiding, conjure, contemptuous, counterfeit, cover up, cozen, crag, crude, crusty, curt, curve, curve-ball, deceive, deception, delude, delusion, derisive, design, device, diddle, direct, dirty deal, dirty trick, disguise, disrespectful, dissemblance, dissemble, dissembling, dissimulate, dissimulation, dodge, double-cross, downright, dull, dull-edged, dull-pointed, dulled, dullish, dupe, edgeless, escarpment, explicit, facade, face, facy, faired, fake, faker, fakery, faking, false air, false front, false show, falsity, fanfaron, fanfaronade, fast deal, feign, feigning, feint, fetch, ficelle, flip, flippant, flurry, fluster, fool, forestall, forthright, four-flush, four-flushing, fourflusher, frank, frankhearted, fraud, free, free-speaking, free-spoken, free-tongued, fresh, friendly, frighten off, front, fuss, gally, gambit, gammon, gasconade, genuine, get around, gilt, gimmick, gloss, good-natured, googly, gratuitous, gruff, guileless, gull, harsh, headland, headlong, heart-to-heart, hearty, hector, hectorer, hectoring, hoax, hocus-pocus, honest, hoodwink, hornswaggle, hot air, humbug, humbuggery, impersonator, impertinent, impostor, imposture, impudent, ingenu, ingenuous, innocent, intimidate, intimidation, joke, joker, juggle, kid, laconic, let down, let on, let on like, make a pretense, make as if, make believe, make like, malapert, malingerer, masquerade, meretriciousness, mislead, mock, mountebank, naive, nervy, no-nonsense, obtuse, open, openhearted, ostentation, out-herod Herod, outmaneuver, outreach, outsmart, outspoken, outward show, outwit, overreach, palisade, palisades, pass, pert, phony, pigeon, plain, plain-spoken, plainspoken, play, play a part, play one false, play possum, playact, playacting, ploy, plunging, pointless, pose, poser, poseur, posing, posture, precipice, precipitous, pretend, pretender, pretense, pretension, pretext, profess, promontory, puffery, put on, put something over, put to flight, quack, quacksalver, quackster, rage, rant, ranter, rapid, rave, raver, representation, ringer, rodomontade, roister, roisterer, rollick, rough, round, rounded, rude, ruse, saltimbanco, sassy, saucy, scar, scare away, scarp, scheme, scurvy trick, seeming, semblance, severe, sham, shammer, sharp, sheer, shift, short, show, side, simple, simplehearted, simpleminded, simulacrum, simulate, simulation, sincere, single-hearted, single-minded, slang, sleight, sleight of hand, sleight-of-hand trick, smart, smart-alecky, smart-ass, smoothed, snippety, snippy, snow, speciousness, splutter, sputter, steep, storm, straight, straight-out, straightforward, stratagem, string along, subterfuge, surly, swagger, swaggerer, swashbuckle, swashbuckler, swashbucklery, swasher, tactless, take in, tart, terse, to the point, transparent, trick, truculent, trustful, trusting, two-time, uncalled-for, unchecked, unconstrained, unedged, unequivocal, unguarded, unpointed, unreserved, unrestrained, unsharp, unsharpened, unsophisticated, unsuspicious, unwary, vapor, vaporer, varnish, vertical, wall, wile, window dressing, wise-ass