bluff

verb

/blʌf/

[intransitive, transitive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they bluff	/blʌf/ /blʌf/
he / she / it bluffs	/blʌfs/ /blʌfs/
past simple bluffed	/blʌft/ /blʌft/
past participle bluffed	/blʌft/ /blʌft/
-ing form bluffing	/ˈblʌfɪŋ/ /ˈblʌfɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

jump to other results

bluff (something) to try to make somebody believe that you will do something that you do not really intend to do, or that you know something that you do not really know虛張聲勢；唬人；吹牛
- I don't think he'll shoot—I think he's just bluffing.我認爲他不會開槍，我想他不過是在嚇唬人。
Topics Personal qualitiesc2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
Bluff is used with these nouns as the object:
way
See full entry
Word Originverb late 17th cent. (originally in the sense ‘blindfold, trick’): from Dutch bluffen ‘brag’, or bluf ‘bragging’. The current sense (originally US, mid 19th cent.) originally referred to bluffing in the game of poker.

Idioms

bluff it out

to get out of a difficult situation by continuing to tell lies, especially when people suspect you are not being honest（受到懷疑後）繼續蒙混過關，靠說謊擺脫困境

bluff

noun

/blʌf/

Idioms

jump to other results

[uncountable, countable] an attempt to trick somebody by making them believe that you will do something when you really have no intention of doing it, or that you know something when you do not, in fact, know it虛張聲勢的做法；唬人
- It was just a game of bluff.那只不過是唬人的把戲。
- He said he would resign if he didn't get more money, but it was only a bluff.他說如果不給他加薪他就辭職，但那不過是虛張聲勢而已。
see also double bluff
[countable] a steep cliff or slope, especially by the sea or a river（尤指海邊或河邊的）峭壁，陡岸

Word Originnoun sense 1 late 17th cent. (originally in the sense ‘blindfold, trick’): from Dutch bluffen ‘brag’, or bluf ‘bragging’. The current sense (originally US, mid 19th cent.) originally referred to bluffing in the game of poker. noun sense 2 early 17th cent. (as an adjective, originally in nautical use): of unknown origin.

Idioms

call somebody’s bluff

to tell somebody to do what they are threatening to do, because you believe that they will not be cruel or brave enough to do it要求…攤牌，要求…兌現其恫嚇（因相信對方不至於或不敢這樣做）
- She was tempted to call his bluff, hardly able to believe he’d carry out his threat.她很想逼他亮出底牌，並不相信他會做他威脅要做的事。

bluff

adjective

/blʌf/

jump to other results

(of people or their manner人或態度) very direct and cheerful, with good intentions, although not always very polite直率豪爽的（盡管有時不夠禮貌）
- Beneath his bluff exterior he was a sensitive man.他外表大大咧咧，但其實是個敏感的人。
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
Bluff is used with these nouns:
exterior
See full entry
Word Originadjective early 18th cent. (‘surly, abrupt in manner’): figurative use of bluff ‘steep cliff or slope’. The current positive connotation dates from the early 19th cent.