1
as in forging
to imitate or copy especially in order to deceive
pranksters faked giant footprints and then claimed that they had seen Bigfoot
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in pretending
to present a false appearance of
while running for class president, Dan was not above faking friendship with people just to get their votes
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in concocting
to perform, make, or do without preparation
if you give me the gist of the plan, I can probably fake enough for the speech
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in evading
to elude (an opponent in a sports contest) by making a deceptive or agile movement
the running back faked the defense by stepping to his left and then quickly cutting to the right
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 faking
After driving his team to the 1-yard line, Fields fooled the entire Steelers defense on a fourth down, faking a handoff and then high-stepping into the end zone untouched to take a 32-31 lead.
—
Mike Defabo, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
On August 1, after BLS reported weak job creation and sizable downward revisions, the president dismissed Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, accusing her – without evidence – of faking data.
—Teresa Ghilarducci, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Rapunzel might be faking his tourist status in New York as well as his aversion to blood.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2025
The longer sentence can serve as a deterrent to anyone else who may be considering faking their death and misleading law enforcement, the judge said.
—Scott Bauer, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2025
Other rules changes include a penalty for defensive players faking a lunge at the line of scrimmage to induce a false start on the offensive line.
—Chase Goodbread, The Tuscaloosa News, 20 Aug. 2025
This isn’t about faking calm or being emotionally robotic.
—Marc Brackett, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2025
The remainder of the cast includes actor Jussie Smollett, who returns to television six years after allegedly faking a hate crime.
—Emmett Prosser, jsonline.com, 9 Aug. 2025
Mike Defabo, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
On August 1, after BLS reported weak job creation and sizable downward revisions, the president dismissed Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, accusing her – without evidence – of faking data.
—Teresa Ghilarducci, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Rapunzel might be faking his tourist status in New York as well as his aversion to blood.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2025
The longer sentence can serve as a deterrent to anyone else who may be considering faking their death and misleading law enforcement, the judge said.
—Scott Bauer, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2025
Other rules changes include a penalty for defensive players faking a lunge at the line of scrimmage to induce a false start on the offensive line.
—Chase Goodbread, The Tuscaloosa News, 20 Aug. 2025
This isn’t about faking calm or being emotionally robotic.
—Marc Brackett, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2025
The remainder of the cast includes actor Jussie Smollett, who returns to television six years after allegedly faking a hate crime.
—Emmett Prosser, jsonline.com, 9 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for faking
Verb
-
Told in two timelines, Letters to Kafka explores her role as an active resistance fighter in Czechoslovakia after the Nazis annexed the country in 1938, and her life in Vienna from 1918 to 1925, forging her own path separate from her husband, and Kafka.—
Christine Estima
September 12,
Literary Hub,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Her son Cedric Von Ferdinand, who was her caretaker, has since been slapped with dozens of fraud charges for allegedly assigning himself her power of attorney and forging signatures, among other offenses, according to a criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
People.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
These issues are very real and generally speaking there are very few, if any, magic combinations of settings to cure these problems for many players, and pretending like that’s true is either disingenuous or misinformed.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Scrolling on one’s phone can be a deadening experience, but here’s someone feeling, or at least pretending to feel, a genuine feeling—even if the abundance of these videos surely numbs us further.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Not only is the kitchen fully on display but a separate alcove is given over to his highly technical lab, a play space dedicated to fermentation, aging, preserving and otherwise concocting.—
Ann Abel,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
-
That isn't stopping Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report from concocting a massive trade proposal that would send the nine-time All-Star to the New York Knicks.—
Ricardo Klein,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Villa have enjoyed a successful style, evading risk and playing with precision.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Thomas Phillips and his children – believed to be ages 9, 10 and 12 – had been evading police in a remote part of the country’s North Island since December 2021, triggering a manhunt that gripped the nation.—
Todd Symons,
CNN Money,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
He and Baines were imprisoned and questioned for counterfeiting coins, and Marlowe was sent home.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
By simulating Earth with a global climate model, and feeding it a bewildering variety of data, the team brought snapshots of these ancient planets to life in some 85 slices of geological, paleontological history.—
Peter Brannen,
Quanta Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Today’s use cases are limited, with most work concentrated on simulating chemistry and physics.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Meanwhile, researchers were devising methods to make McIntoshes more reliable to grow and using the McIntosh to develop hybrid apples like the Cortland and Milton.—
Mark Dent,
HubSpot,
12 Sep. 2025
-
One of the biggest difficulties in devising laws on the topic of AI for mental health involves defining what constitutes AI for mental health.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The viral trend has fueled fiery online debates — with TikToks showing everything from brides dodging cake by bending over backwards to grooms chasing their new wives across the room just to land the smash.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Why then, after dodging bullets and a couple of explosive shellings, look at the president’s role in the economy on fall Sunday when the NFL stops the nation in its tracks save for DraftKings ?—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Faking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faking. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share