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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Don’t let Sewanee, Tennessee’s, tiny size trick you into dismissing it.—
Jennifer Stewart Kornegay,
Southern Living,
9 Apr. 2026
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But in the end, the gang manages to trick Soldier Boy into going for an empty tube while Frenchie dons a gas mask and pours out the virus.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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To escape North Korea, the Kims would need to evade patrol boats and cross what is known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL) – a tense, disputed maritime boundary between North and South Korea.—
Mike Valerio,
CNN Money,
19 Apr. 2026
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Jarvis then spent eight years evading the FBI in Paris, London and Ibiza, after an industrial sized hash-smuggling operation went wrong.—
Richard Johnson,
New York Daily News,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
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And last month, the FBI announced that individuals associated with Russian intelligence were posing as Signal’s security department to fool American government officials and journalists into providing information that would allow the hackers to take over their accounts.—
Robert Faturechi,
ProPublica,
11 Apr. 2026
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Many a hunter has been fooled into giving up too soon.—
Bruce Brady,
Outdoor Life,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Hundreds faked identifying information.—
Michael Kaplan,
CBS News,
19 Apr. 2026
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Honestly, at this point, trying to fake some empathy and some actual forgiveness for these people would be faster for Dorit than to just keep shouting them down.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The firm says it was deceived again in June 2022, when IQHQ restructured and moved investor interests into a Delaware limited partnership structure.—
Jennifer Van Grove,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Apr. 2026
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Memento has withstood the test of time, thanks to memorable performances, intricately layered storytelling, and what the film ultimately reveals about our all-too-human willingness to deceive ourselves in order to escape unpleasant truths.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
6 Apr. 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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There, he got sucked in — to blackjack, poker, roulette.—
Sequoia Carrillo,
NPR,
5 Apr. 2026
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Air travelers across the country have been suck in longer-than-usual lines in recent weeks.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fake out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fake%20out. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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