OUTWIT • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Outwit

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/ˈaʊtwˌɪt/ Listen

verb

Outwit v. t.

To surpass in wisdom, esp. in cunning.

To defeat or gain an advantage over by superior craft or cunning stratagems; as, the thief outwitted his pursuers and left the country undetected. "They did so much outwit and outwealth us!"

noun

Outwit n. The faculty of acquiring wisdom by observation and experience, or the wisdom so acquired; opposed to inwit. (Obs.)

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Etymology of 'Outwit'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Outwit" Quotes from Famous Books

... clever; the most insignificant citizen's wife can outwit an old diplomat. What science they display under the most trying and peculiar circumstances! What profound combination in their plans of vengeance! What prudence in their malice! What patience in their cruelty! ...

— The Cross of Berny • Emile de Girardin

... old Hindoo scriptures monkeys figure as counsellors of nonplussed heroes, and in the crisis of the Titan war the Devas themselves condescend to seek the advice of the monkey Honuman, who contrives to outwit the prince of the night-spirits. In the international fable of "Reynard the Fox," a she-monkey on the eve of the trial by battle suggests the stratagem that turns the scales against the superior strength of the wolf Isegrim. The mens aequa in arduis is, indeed, a simian characteristic. ...

— Lippincott's Magazine, October 1885 • Various

... has ever led so free and happy a life as he. In those days, there was peace between the animals and the Boy Man. Sometimes they challenged him to friendly contests, whereupon He-who-was-first-Created taught his little brother how to outwit them by clever tricks and devices. This he was often able to do; but not always; for sometimes the animals by their greater strength ...

— Wigwam Evenings - Sioux Folk Tales Retold • Charles Alexander Eastman and Elaine Goodale Eastman

... sir, for thus trespassing upon your valuable time, and I certainly should not have done so but for the certainty that our interests in a certain matter which I have in hand are practically identical, in so far that we both should wish to outwit a clever rogue.' ...

— The Old Man in the Corner • Baroness Orczy

... calling aloud. A "seat" in this exchange was worth about ninety-five thousand dollars, and so no one of these men was poor; but yet they came, day after day, to play their parts in this sordid arena, "seeking in sorrow for each other's joy": inventing a thousand petty tricks to outwit and deceive each other; rejoicing in a thousand petty triumphs; and spending their lives, like the waves upon the shore, a very symbol of human futility. Now and then a sudden impulse would seize them, and they would become like ...

— The Metropolis • Upton Sinclair

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