1
as in to trick
to cause to believe what is untrue
my friends faked me out for a whole day, letting me think that they had forgotten my birthday
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to evade
to elude (an opponent in a sports contest) by making a deceptive or agile movement
used a quick between-the-legs dribble to fake out the flat-footed defender
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fake out
Great fake out by the production team as Savannah then surprised everyone (and maybe even herself) by winning.
—
Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Dec. 2025
Among the highlights was Dart taking off in the first quarter, faking out several Eagles defenders, and running to the endzone for a 20-yard touchdown.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Old Dominion started fast, with quarterback Colton Joseph faking out the Hoosiers defense on the first offensive play of the game and sprinting 75 yards for a touchdown.
—Michael Marot, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
The plan is to fake out territorial wasps who will avoid an area where other wasps already reside.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fake out
Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Dec. 2025
Among the highlights was Dart taking off in the first quarter, faking out several Eagles defenders, and running to the endzone for a 20-yard touchdown.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Old Dominion started fast, with quarterback Colton Joseph faking out the Hoosiers defense on the first offensive play of the game and sprinting 75 yards for a touchdown.
—Michael Marot, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
The plan is to fake out territorial wasps who will avoid an area where other wasps already reside.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fake out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fake out
Verb
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According to police records, Torres-García died months before DCF was successfully tricked by her mother into doing a video call with a woman who has said she was asked to impersonate the child.—
Laura Tillman,
Hartford Courant,
2 May 2026
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Instead of acting independently, the forces influence one another to amplify the ion’s motion, thereby tricking the system into generating a much stronger, more complex interaction than either force could achieve alone.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
1 May 2026
Verb
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While testing the model, Anthropic discovered decades-old software flaws and bugs that had evaded millions of previous attempts.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Fortune,
2 May 2026
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But Inoue used his quick footwork to evade them, landing some jabs back in the process.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 May 2026
Verb
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After killing Minnesota’s first power play, the Avalanche opened the scoring when defenseman Sam Malinski scored his first career playoff goal, fooling Wallstedt with a rising wrist shot.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
4 May 2026
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Don’t let Will Lee’s nickname fool you.—
Mike Kaye
May 4,
Charlotte Observer,
4 May 2026
Verb
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But faking photos has never been so fast and cheap.—
Lila Shroff,
The Atlantic,
2 May 2026
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According to that initial indictment, filed last year, federal prosecutors alleged that Rozier faked a foot injury during a March 2023 game while playing for the Charlotte Hornets.—
Chloe Atkins,
NBC news,
1 May 2026
Verb
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The lawsuit alleged that Capital One deceived customers about interest rates related to some of its savings account options, according to court filings on the settlement website.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
3 May 2026
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Her The Wife nods and supports, all knowingly without deceiving the emotional truths of the narrative.—
Chris Feil,
Vulture,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Toronto’s goal is to string along offenses late into possessions, when the Raptors don’t have time to run second actions or create open shots.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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Above them, flags from Latin American countries are strung along the ceiling.—
Meg Anderson,
NPR,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Put a bowl with a few charcoal briquettes on a shelf to suck in and trap strong smells.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Apr. 2026
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Now all the Browns need to do is … suck in 2026.—
Jacob Robinson,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fake out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fake%20out. Accessed 6 May. 2026.
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