SINCE 1828

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1

hoax

verb \ ˈhōks \

Definition of hoax

transitive verb

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

were hoaxed by the website

—

hoaxer

noun

See hoax defined for English-language learners

Examples of hoax in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of hoax from the Web

Barclays CEO replied to hoax email purportedly from chairman Just 62% of U.K. businesses surveyed restrict personal devices Executives tempted to chuckle at bank chief Jes Staley’s recent email missteps might want to hold off on the smugness.

— nate lanxon, Bloomberg.com, "Barclays Boss Shows CEOs Still Haven’t Quite Got the Hang of Tech," 12 May 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of hoax

probably contraction of hocus

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1796

See Words from the same year

hoax Synonyms

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

undeceive

Related Words

kid, put on, tease; bleed, cheat, chisel, defraud, diddle, euchre, flam, fleece, gyp, hustle, mulct, rook, shortchange, skin, squeeze, stick, sting, swindle

Near Antonyms

debunk, expose, reveal, show up, uncloak, uncover, unmask; disclose, divulge, tell, unveil; disabuse, disenchant, disillusion

2

hoax

noun

Definition of hoax

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

See hoax defined for English-language learners

See hoax defined for kids

Examples of hoax in a Sentence

The bomb threat is probably a hoax, but we should still evacuate the building.
She was the victim of a cruel hoax.

Recent Examples of hoax from the Web

Gateway Pundit is a conspiratorially-minded blog that has a history of helping push stories that are hoaxes.

— ethan chiel, GQ, "Right Wing Publications Can't Stop Getting Duped By Fake Antifa Accounts," 22 Aug. 2017
Boesch recalled that farmers were upset and that there were charges that the Pfiesteria problem was a hoax.

— michael dresser, baltimoresun.com, "Outbreak of toxic Pfiesteria in 1997 hurt many — but boosted Chesapeake cleanup," 22 July 2017
Most false alarms are not made to cause problems or as a joke — often its people using radios improperly, according to the Coast Guard — though some are straight up hoaxes.

— jordyn noennig, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Coast Guard false alarm calls have increased substantially on Great Lakes," 11 July 2017
For information about how to report spam messages and avoid hoaxes, click here for Facebook's guide.

— diana samuels, NOLA.com, "No, Jayden K. Smith is not trying to hack your Facebook account," 10 July 2017
The latter is headed by always-shirtless conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, whose far-right fans believe Sandy Hook was a hoax and that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are literal demons.

— ethan sapienza, The Cut, "Goop and Infowars Have Way More in Common Than You Thought," 30 June 2017
The Post's Fact Checker recently compiled a timeline of every Russia story Trump alleged was a hoax by Democrats and found that, many times, Trump contradicted his own past statements or statements from members of his administration.

— amy b wang, Washington Post, "Trump renews attack on ‘Fake News CNN’ after retraction," 27 June 2017
The death hoax came amid a rocky few days for Ethereum.

— jeff john roberts, Fortune, "Kellyanne Conway: People Who Lose Medicaid Coverage Can Get a Job," 26 June 2017
Ditto, for that matter, the idea that coal is the future of energy, and that climate change is a hoax.

— andrew sullivan, Daily Intelligencer, "The Perverse Presidency of Donald Trump," 23 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of hoax

see ¹hoax

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1808

See Words from the same year

hoax Synonyms

Synonyms

counterfeit, forgery, fake, humbug, phony (also phoney), sham

Related Words

copycat, knockoff; copy, facsimile, replica, reproduction; dummy, mock-up; fraud, gaff, imposture, spoof, swindle; simulation, synthetic; bastard, brummagem, duffer, shoddy

Near Antonyms

original

HOAX Defined for English Language Learners

hoax

verb

Definition of hoax for English Language Learners

: to trick or deceive (someone)

hoax

noun

Definition of hoax for English Language Learners

: an act that is meant to trick or deceive people

HOAX Defined for Kids

1

hoax

verb \ ˈhōks \

Definition of hoax for Students

hoaxed; hoaxing

:to trick into thinking something is true or real when it isn't

2

hoax

noun

Definition of hoax for Students

1 :an act meant to fool or deceive

2 :something false passed off as real

Learn More about hoax

See words that rhyme with hoax Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hoax Spanish Central: Translation of hoax Nglish: Translation of hoax for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of hoax for Arabic speakers

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Examples: hoax in a Sentence