Definition

1. Noun:

   • A steep cliff or bank: A high, steep, and often broad-faced rock formation or riverbank.
   • A pretense of strength or confidence: An attempt to deceive someone, especially in a game like poker, by pretending to have a stronger position, better cards, or more confidence than one actually possesses.

2. Verb:

   • To deceive or intimidate by a show of confidence: To try to make someone believe you are stronger, more confident, or in a better position than you really are, in order to gain an advantage.

3. Adjective:

   • Steep and perpendicular: Describing a cliff or shoreline that rises very steeply and abruptly.
   • Direct and good-naturedly outspoken: Describing a person's manner as frank, hearty, and straightforward, often in a way that is blunt but not unkind.

Examples

• Noun (Cliff/Bank):
  • The ship sailed past the towering bluff.
  • We hiked to the top of the limestone bluff overlooking the river.
• Noun (Deception):
  • His threat was just a bluff to get us to agree.
  • In poker, a successful bluff can win you the pot even with weak cards.
• Verb:
  • He tried to bluff his way through the interview by pretending to know the answers.
  • The negotiator bluffed, claiming to have a better offer from a competitor.
• Adjective (Steep):
  • The trail ended at a bluff coastline.
• Adjective (Manner):
  • She has a bluff, no-nonsense way of speaking that I appreciate.

Advanced Usage

• "To call someone's bluff": To challenge someone to prove their claim or threat, believing it to be a deception.
  • When he said he would quit, they called his bluff, and he backed down.
• "Double bluff": A complex deception where you tell the truth, expecting to be disbelieved.
  • He told them exactly where he was hiding, as a double bluff.

Variants and Related Words

• Bluffer (n): A person who bluffs.
  • He's a terrible poker player because he's such an obvious bluffer.
• Bluffly (adv): In a bluff manner.
  • He stated his opinion bluffly.

Synonyms

• Noun (Deception): Deception, pretense, sham, feint, ruse.
• Verb: Deceive, mislead, feign, pretend, fake.
• Adjective (Steep): Sheer, precipitous, abrupt, vertical.
• Adjective (Manner): Blunt, direct, forthright, hearty, plain-spoken.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Idioms

• "Bluff it out": To maintain a deception or false confidence to the end of a difficult situation.
  • He didn't know the procedure but decided to bluff it out and hope no one noticed.

Adjective

1. bluntly direct and outspoken but good-natured
   • a bluff but pleasant manner
   • a bluff and rugged natural leader
2. 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

Noun

1. the act of bluffing in poker; deception by a false show of confidence in the strength of your cards
2. pretense that your position is stronger than it really is
   • his bluff succeeded in getting him accepted
3. a high steep bank (usually formed by river erosion)

Verb

1. frighten someone by pretending to be stronger than one really is
2. deceive an opponent by a bold bet on an inferior hand with the result that the opponent withdraws a winning hand