fudge

verb \ ˈfəj \

|Updated on: 10 Aug 2018

Examples: fudge in a Sentence

Definition of fudge

fudged; fudging

transitive verb

1 a : to devise as a substitute : fake

b : falsify

fudged the figures

2 : to fail to come to grips with : dodge

fudged the issue

intransitive verb

1 : to exceed the proper bounds or limits of something

feel that the author has fudged a little on the … rules for crime fiction
—Newsweek

also : cheat

fudging on an exam

2 : to fail to perform as expected

3 : to avoid commitment : hedge

the government's tendency to fudge on delicate matters of policy
—Claire Sterling

See fudge defined for English-language learners

See fudge defined for kids

Examples of fudge in a Sentence

Politicians have been known to fudge the issues.
The treasurer fudged the figures.
It was later discovered that the researchers had fudged their data.

Recent Examples of fudge from the Web

Fifteen years of forced hard labor, bound ankle to wrist in chains, simply wasn’t proportionate to the offense of fudging a payroll ledger.

— clifton leaf, Fortune, "Brainstorm Health: Cruel and Unusual, Amazon and PillPack, Biotech IPO Madness," 28 June 2018
Unscrupulous politicians will be tempted to fudge figures to win votes, or to give lenders false reassurance.

— The Economist, "The hounding of Greece’s former statistics chief is disturbing," 14 June 2018
The number was considered by some advocates and the press to be dubious, especially given recent revelations that the city had fudged lead paint inspections in public housing units for years.

— anne branigin, The Root, "New York City Finally Admits that More than 800 Kids Living in Public Housing Tested High for Lead," 2 July 2018
Dairy Queen: Paying homage to the new Jurassic World movie, the chain’s new limited Jurassic Chomp Blizzard includes peanut butter bites and fudge topping.

— kelly tyko, USA TODAY, "Restaurants compete to have this summer's coolest and wackiest drinks," 26 June 2018
So if Texas is fudging its lane counts (for shame!) where is the world's widest highway?

— ken jennings, Condé Nast Traveler, "The World’s Widest Highway Spans a Whopping 26 Lanes," 18 June 2018
Administrators aren’t directly told to fudge reports, said Rebecca Dahl, a retired Broward County principal.

— scott travis, Sun-Sentinel.com, "School Board wants to ensure all campus crimes are reported," 12 June 2018
Afterwards, Trudeau passed the microphone to Macron, who responded for 10 minutes, insisting Europe was also facing barriers and that the U.S. was fudging the truth by not counting, for instance, American tech giants in trade flows.

— josh wingrove, BostonGlobe.com, "G-7’s iconic photo shows its success, depending on the angle," 9 June 2018
Old Branson is a few blocks of quaint souvenir stores and fudge purveyors and diners.

— pam mandel, Longreads, "Exodus in the Ozarks," 5 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fudge.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of fudge

origin unknown

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1674

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

fudge Synonyms

fudge

noun

Definition of fudge

1 : foolish nonsense —often used interjectionally to express annoyance, disappointment, or disbelief

2 : a soft creamy candy made typically of sugar, milk, butter, and flavoring

3 : something that is fudged; especially : a bending of rules or a compromise

See fudge defined for English-language learners

Examples of fudge in a Sentence

We bought three kinds of fudge.
His response to these charges has been a series of denials and fudges.

Recent Examples of fudge from the Web

Desserts include Southern pecan pie, a loaded fudge brownie, bourbon bread pudding and red velvet cake.

— philip potempa, Daily Southtown, "Guide to outdoor dining in Chicago suburbs: Tribes Alehouse in Tinley Park," 11 July 2018
Bowl after bowl of rocky road, double fudge chunk and butter pecan.

— katie reilly, Time, "Read Jeff Flake's Commencement Speech on the Rule of Law and Trump: 'We May Have Hit Bottom'," 23 May 2018
Ice cream unicorn Calling all basics! Drizzle your classic unicorn costume in hot fudge for a look that's totally unique.

— kelsey stiegman, Seventeen, "10 Insanely Cool Halloween Makeup Looks for When You Need a Last-Minute Costume," 30 June 2018
Or maybe start closer to home with something like A Love Supreme, Dark Matter’s house blend that strikes more traditional cocoa, fudge and cherry notes.

— adam lukach, RedEye Chicago, "What's in a cup? Chicago specialty roasters showcase sips in all shades of black," 9 Nov. 2017
Drizzles include hot fudge, marshmallow, salted caramel, raspberry and/or blackberry.

— joyce smith, kansascity, "New to Leawood: Donut shop where you can top doughnuts with bacon, ice cream, more," 29 June 2018
The Lincoln Park comfort food spot is serving up a deep fried Twinkie with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, caramel sauce and whipped cream ($6).

— audrey gorden, RedEye Chicago, "Fried Twinkies, ribs and American beer: Fourth of July specials to hit up around Chicago," 4 July 2017
Haagen-Dazs' peanut butter chocolate fudge nondairy ice cream has 22 grams of sugar.

— lisa drayer, CNN, "The scoop on dairy-free 'ice creams'," 8 June 2018
Specials include maple, strawberry with sprinkles, apple cider and chocolate and hot fudge with custard.

— hannah steinkopf-frank, RedEye Chicago, "Grab doughnut deals all over Chicago Friday for National Doughnut Day," 30 May 2018

First Known Use of fudge

1766

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

fudge Synonyms

Synonyms

balderdash, baloney (also boloney), beans, bilge, blarney, blather, bosh, bull [slang], bunk, bunkum (or buncombe), claptrap, drivel, folderol (also falderal), folly, foolishness, hogwash, hokeypokey, hokum, hooey, humbug, humbuggery, jazz, malarkey (also malarky), moonshine, nonsense, piffle, poppycock, rot, rubbish, senselessness, silliness, stupidity, tommyrot, trash, trumpery, twaddle;

Near Antonyms

levelheadedness, rationality, reasonability, reasonableness, sensibleness;

common sense, horse sense, sense;

discernment, judgment (or judgement), wisdom;

absurdness, craziness, madness, senselessness, witlessness;

monkey business, monkeyshine(s), shenanigan(s), tomfoolery;

gas, hot air, rigmarole (also rigamarole);

double-talk, hocus-pocus;

Other Food Terms

Reuben, calamari, chuck, curry, edamame, foie gras, hummus, leaven, nonpareil, peel

FUDGE Defined for English Language Learners

fudge

verb

Definition of fudge for English Language Learners

: to fail to deal with (something) in an open and direct way
: to speak or act in a way that is meant to avoid dealing with a problem directly
: to change (something) in order to trick people