Bluffing

Bluffing is the act of attempting to deceive someone into believing that one is capable of doing something or possesses something, often in order to gain an advantage or to hide a weakness. It involves a pretense, often of strength, confidence, or knowledge, to mislead another person. bluffing can be employed in games, business negotiations, or social situations. It relies on a false display, using misleading actions, words, or demeanor, and often involves taking a risk based on the belief that the deception will succeed.

Bluffing meaning with examples

• In the poker game, he was blatantly bluffing. His shaky hands and nervous glances gave away his weak hand, yet he bet heavily, hoping to scare everyone off. Unfortunately for him, another player called his bluff and won the pot. He lost the hand.
• The sales team suspected their competitor was bluffing about having a new, revolutionary product. They'd heard rumors, but the lack of concrete details suggested a smokescreen. They conducted market research to see if they were bluffing. This could be the case.
• During the negotiation, the union representative was clearly bluffing about the potential for a strike. He made threats to seem like they're going to strike, but behind closed doors, he confided that a strike was the last thing they wanted. His tactic worked.
• She was bluffing her way through the job interview, pretending to have expertise in a software program she barely knew. She got hired but, soon realized the situation could not be handled by bluffing and was fired a week later. This happened because her lack of skill set was discovered.
• He had a terrible hand in the game, but he knew that he had to keep bluffing as a strategy. He thought this would make his opponents consider they were bluffing and call his bluff or call his bluff for fun, or even to see. He made a strategic bluff.