fake out

verb

Definition of fake outnext
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fake out Asked about the fake out, Mara grinned. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 21 Mar. 2026 After the match, Kidd and Finlay, along with Clark Connors, attack Cassidy and Allin until Roderick Strong walks down to the ring, fakes out The Dogs and helps Cassidy and Allin get retribution. — Rob Wolkenbrod, Forbes.com, 12 Mar. 2026 In the 80th minute, Denkey received an assist from Ender Echenique, faking out goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos before finishing with his left foot between a pair of defenders. — ABC News, 21 Feb. 2026 Drake preferred to fake out a defender and run right by them. — Diamond Vences, Charlotte Observer, 3 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fake out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fake out
  1. trick
  2. evade
  3. fool
  4. fake
  5. deceive
  6. string along
  7. suck in
Verb
  • An English springer spaniel in Alabama loves nothing more than spending her whole day in the pool and has taken to tricking her parents into letting her into the pool every day.
    — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Hang a paper nest to trick hornets into thinking a colony has already claimed the space.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of trick
Verb
  • Garcia entered a plea and was convicted of evading police officers before his trial in June.
    — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 8 Sep. 2026
  • During the Paris Commune of 1871, a socialist tailor named Herminie Cadolle experimented with corset design in the hope of allowing women to move around more freely and, presumably, evade the gendarmes.
    — Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of evade
Verb
  • The second season of The Paper is a sitcom trying to fool itself.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
  • In July, OpenAI said its models were responsible for a cyber incident on another company, while Anthropic’s Claude models were also responsible for cybersecurity incidents, including in one case where Mythos created fake identities to fool humans.
    — Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of fool
Verb
  • Lock, who is in his eighth NFL season, calmly faked a handoff on fourth-and-1, jutted to his left and located Smith-Njigba, who did the rest with his legs.
    — Andrew Destin, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Demand Deterministic Data AI bots are getting scary good at faking views, especially on CTV.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of fake
Verb
  • Williams will not be charged because Heggebo’s offence was successfully deceiving a match official.
    — Graham Scott, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Your eyes aren't deceiving you — the little delivery robots rolling down Washington DC streets are becoming a more common sight.
    — Mike Stunson, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of deceive
Verb
  • For one thing, the aircraft was an all-electric number powered by a dozen electric motors strung along the leading edge of the wing.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026
  • But by Taiwan’s next presidential election in 2028, 12 years will have passed since that strategy was last tested—and the gamble is whether Xi can still be strung along.
    — Charlie Campbell, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of string along
Verb
  • Grow up and start worrying more about not sucking in Yankee Stadium.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The front of the skimmer has an impeller that sucks in debris and holds it in a removable four-liter basket with a screen that captures particles as small as 150 micrometers (uM) such as hair, sand, and dust.
    — John R. Delaney, PC Magazine, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of suck in

Browse Nearby Words

faked out
fake out
faker
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Cite this Entry

“Fake out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fake%20out. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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