1
as in deceiving
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 evading
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 faking out
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for faking out
Verb
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Relying Too Much On Garbage Disposals Though the name may be deceiving, garbage disposals aren’t actually designed to dispose of all garbage.—
Quincy Bulin,
Southern Living,
3 Jan. 2026
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That level of eye-deceiving detail falters in wide shots, however, some of which suffer from unflattering flat lighting that in certain instances recall computer screensavers of yore, given their colorful artificiality.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Kurchenko was also close to Viktor Yanukovych, the Kremlin-leaning Ukrainian president at the time, and was later accused by the succeeding Ukrainian government of systematically evading millions in taxes with the collusion of officials in Yanukovych’s administration.—
Olena Loginova,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
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He was arrested on suspicion of evading arrest or detention with a vehicle.—
Emerson Clarridge,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Ukraine orchestrated a fake hit on one of Russia's enemies who has fought alongside Ukrainian forces, tricking the Kremlin into paying out a $500,000 bounty Kyiv used to fund its war effort.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
2 Jan. 2026
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To pull off his human heist, Mendez must develop and try to sell a Star Wars-esque sci-fi film, in the hopes of tricking the Iranians into believing the American hostages are part of a Canadian film crew.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Anyone who predicted this Titans team to win more than four or five games was fooling themselves, and even those predictions are coming off over-optimistic.—
Nick Suss,
Nashville Tennessean,
3 Nov. 2025
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Either Michigan is fooling everyone in college football, or the Wolverines are fooling themselves.—
Austin Meek,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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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
Verb
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Two shows – Beetlejuice and Waiting For Godot – closed last week, with the demonic musical posting a big $311,282 gain over the previous week, taking in $1,373,691 and selling 96% of its seats.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
6 Jan. 2026
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The book covers pocket, knee, crotch and belt loop repair techniques, taking in and expanding the waist, hemming, adjusting leg widths, transforming jeans to shorts and skirts, splicing.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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So what impact are tariffs having on small businesses, and how are larger retailers able to skirt their impact?—
Shawn Baldwin,
CNBC,
7 Nov. 2025
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What effect is this having on the WNBA?—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Just kidding - but honestly not sold on him being the best player on a championship caliber team.—
The Athletic NBA Staff,
New York Times,
30 Oct. 2025
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The Aggies coach wasn’t kidding.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Faking out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faking%20out. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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