Outsmarting involves using intelligence, cunning, and strategic thinking to gain an advantage over another person or entity. It typically implies anticipating actions, understanding motivations, and employing deceptive or clever tactics to achieve a desired outcome, often involving a competition or conflict. The process emphasizes mental agility, the ability to see beyond the obvious, and exploiting weaknesses in the opponent's strategy or character. Successful outsmarting leads to an accomplishment or triumph over an opponent, showing a superior level of understanding and planning, which might involve manipulation, misdirection, or the use of knowledge that the other party lacks.
Outsmarting meaning with examples
- The detective, known for his sharp intellect, spent weeks studying the suspect's habits, meticulously planning his questioning to outsmart the criminal and finally extract a confession, which was crucial to close the case. He needed to anticipate every lie, every misdirection; so he would succeed and arrest the perp.
- In the game of chess, masters constantly strategize, aiming to outsmart their opponents by setting traps and anticipating their moves several steps ahead. The strategic planning would take hours as both opponents try to gain the superior playing advantage, and would only end when a checkmate occurs.
- The marketing team worked tirelessly, studying the consumer behavior, and finding new trends, and crafted a campaign to outsmart their competitors by appealing to the target audience's preferences more effectively. The ad team researched several strategies to appeal more effectively to consumers.
- During the negotiations, the experienced negotiator attempted to outsmart the other party by feigning ignorance about a key piece of information, successfully securing a more favorable deal for his client and creating a major victory for the company and employees. The team was ecstatic.
- The protagonist in the novel developed a clever plan using deception and trickery to outsmart the villain, eventually overcoming the antagonist's schemes and reclaiming what was rightfully theirs, bringing a sigh of relief to the people of their kingdom after many months of pain and suffering.