ruses

Noun

ruse (countable and uncountable, plural ruses)

1. (archaic, countable, often, rare) A turning or doubling back, especially of animals to get out of the way of hunting dogs.
   • The boar was evidently most averse to leave the field in which he had spent so may pleasant hours of uninterrupted rest; […] He turned sharply to one flank; he stopped dead, and went away in the opposite direction as he heard the hunters gallop past; every ruse he tried, but tried in vain.1867, J. T. Newall, chapter XVII, in Hog Hunting in the East, and Other Sports, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], →OCLC, pages 367–368
2. (broadly, countable) An action intended to deceive; a trick.
   • Near-synonyms: ploy, stratagem, artifice

   Synonyms:

   ploy, stratagem, artifice

3. (uncountable) Cunning, guile, trickery.
   • [H]e [Bertrand du Guesclin] had great natural cunning, that half-savage quality, was full of ruse and trick in war, he was contemptuous towards the high noblesse, but gentle to the poor, and generous to his friends.1873, G[eorge] W[illiam] Kitchin, “The Deeds of Charles V, ‘the Wise.’ a.d. 1360–1380.”, in A History of France down to the Year 1453 (Clarendon Press Series), Oxford: At the University Press, →OCLC...

See all 11 meanings of ruse