hoax

1 of 2

verb

ˈhōks 

hoaxed; hoaxing; hoaxes

transitive verb

: to trick into believing or accepting as genuine something false and often preposterous

were hoaxed by the website

hoaxer noun

hoax

2 of 2

noun

1

: an act intended to trick or dupe : imposture

the victim of a cruel hoax

assumed the bomb threat was just a hoax

2

: something accepted or established by fraud or fabrication

believes the Loch Ness Monster is a hoax

a literary hoax

Synonyms

Verb

• bamboozle
• beguile
• bluff
• buffalo
• burn
• catch
• con
• cozen
• deceive
• delude
• dupe
• fake out
• fool
• gaff
• gammon
• gull
• have
• have on [chiefly British]
• hoodwink
• hornswoggle
• humbug
• juggle
• misguide
• misinform
• mislead
• snooker
• snow
• spoof
• string along
• suck in
• sucker
• take in
• trick

Noun

• counterfeit
• fake
• forgery
• humbug
• phony
• phoney
• sham

Examples of hoax in a Sentence

Verb

a skilled forger who hoaxed the art world into believing that the paintings were long-lost Vermeers

Noun

The bomb threat is probably a hoax, but we should still evacuate the building.

She was the victim of a cruel hoax.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Such criticism has led some police to respond more aggressively to hoax school shooting calls. —Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 5 Oct. 2023

Students recall fear, confusion as Harvard University police responded to hoax emergency call Ultimately, the blame for any swatting incident belongs with the caller reporting the hoax, Davis said. —John Hilliard, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Apr. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

probably contraction of hocus

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1796, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1808, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

hoax

noun

ˈhōks

1

: an act intended to trick or deceive

2

: something false passed off or accepted as genuine

hoax verb

hoaxer noun