trickster
Americannoun
-
a deceiver; cheat; fraud.
-
a person who plays tricks.
-
a supernatural figure appearing in various guises and typically engaging in mischievous activities, important in the folklore and mythology of many primitive peoples and usually conceived as a culture hero.
noun
Other Word Forms
- trickstering noun
Etymology
Origin of trickster
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What kind of tricksters invited accusers to examine them up close?
From Literature
“Not mean. More trickster kine. In ancient Hawai‘i, stealing was one honorable profession.
From Literature
But I cry now—for the first time in years—in the underground corridor of the Ghanaian underworld, all while the ancestral spirit of my grandmother protects me from a trickster god.
From Literature
Watching a trickster hypnotize someone in a live performance might impress you.
The work in question is a "maqāma" -- an Arabic literary form that often features a wandering "trickster."
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
