ruse.

A trick or misleading action designed to deceive someone.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• elaborate ruse
• use a ruse

On the page

The delivery was a ruse to find out whether anyone was inside.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Singular ruse; plural ruses. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.