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
Relevance
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
Final Destination 2: The fire escape Another example of the franchise's excellent ability to fake out viewers happens during the death of Evan (David Paetkau).
—
Keith Langston, People.com, 18 May 2025
And there's at least one thing that felt designed specifically to fake out book-readers.
—ArsTechnica, 18 Apr. 2025
Marner faked out Swayman and tucked the winner behind the goalie.
—Fluto Shinzawa, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
Near the end of the run, Fiske made a terrific move to fake out a would-be tackler.
—Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 2 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fake out
Keith Langston, People.com, 18 May 2025
And there's at least one thing that felt designed specifically to fake out book-readers.
—ArsTechnica, 18 Apr. 2025
Marner faked out Swayman and tucked the winner behind the goalie.
—Fluto Shinzawa, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
Near the end of the run, Fiske made a terrific move to fake out a would-be tackler.
—Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 2 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fake out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fake out
Verb
-
Still, Genians suspects the Kimsuky group was able to develop a workaround, also known as jailbreak, to trick ChatGPT into creating the IDs.—
Senior Reporter,
PC Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
-
But in reality, deepfakes are getting better and the threat industry has many years of experience in honing lures to trick people, playing on emotions and overcoming natural suspicions and objections.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Rather than provide food or temporary shelter for such workers in the colder months, municipalities would round them up and remove them, to save money and evade any responsibility to aid them.—
Time,
Time,
16 Sep. 2025
-
In Milwaukee, Kellner said that around 33% of bus riders have evaded paying fares in 2025 but that the agency has identified a few cost-neutral strategies targeted at reducing fare evasion down to 30% by September 2026, the same rate of evasion busses saw in 2024.—
Claudia Levens,
jsonline.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Your press release isn’t fooling anyone.—
Roberta Matuson,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Replacing Nina with a woman who has the same initials as her is not going to fool us!—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The attack relies on ClickFix tactics, where victims searching for Mac troubleshooting help are lured to fake websites or GitHub repositories.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Last Saturday, Shane Gillis didn’t need to fake his way into Notre Dame Stadium.—
Pete Sampson,
New York Times,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
This requires honesty, particularly self-honesty, as leaders can deceive themselves with what seems like progress.—
Dmitry Malin,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
The band’s attorneys said that consumers could be easily deceived by the products allegedly sold on the marketplace, which could, in turn, cause reputational damage for Twenty One Pilots and its legitimate products.—
Meghan Hall,
Sourcing Journal,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
One mobile, a cluster of white leaf shapes strung along long horizontal arcs, has the aloof grace of an albino peacock, turning with a gavotte rhythm.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Historic buildings are strung along a few blocks of divided Historic Route 66, a nice mix of eateries, saloons and shops.—
Roger Naylor,
AZCentral.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Julia thinks so too, and presses in, sucking in a breath when Ellen mentions Fairy Hill and how people dance into the nights and wake up a hundred years later.—
Lincee Ray Published,
EW.com,
22 Aug. 2025
-
In this case, the device was able to suck in part of the worm's tail and drag it out—still squirming.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fake out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fake%20out. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share