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
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Recent Examples of faking out
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
Michael Marot, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for faking out
Verb
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The lexicon of the wine world can be deceiving.—
Tom Mullen,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
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Some of the stranger and more alarming AI behaviors, such as blackmailing or deceiving users, have been extensively studied by these companies as a first step toward mitigating possible harms.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Ogles has attacked O’Connell repeatedly this year, claiming city government has assisted violent criminals in evading arrest by federal immigration enforcement.—
Vivian Jones,
Nashville Tennessean,
4 Sep. 2025
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After six months of barely evading capture, an escape plan was hatched that saw the soldier cross into Spain and eventual freedom.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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While the Phantom Hacker attack is designed specifically to drain your bank accounts, there are plenty of variants relying on tricking you into installing dangerous software that either gives an attacker a view of your device or hijacks it completely.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
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What does work is tricking her into pressing a button that knocks her out.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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And tech companies must do far more in the design of AI systems to prevent people fooling themselves into thinking these systems are conscious beings.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
26 Aug. 2025
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Deepfakes are getting better at fooling people and will continue to be a rising threat.—
Gene Marks,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 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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There are multiple scenes of him as a younger man walking briskly on city streets, briefcase tucked under an arm – purposeful, directed, not idling or taking in the ambiance around him.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
29 Aug. 2025
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The Michigan State Fair is underway in Novi, and people are camping, enjoying arts and crafts in the Upper Peninsula, taking in music and Polish culture in west Michigan, experiencing holistic wellness in northeast Michigan, and even trying weird attractions in mid-Michigan.—
Jenna Prestininzi,
Freep.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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What effect is this having on the WNBA?—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Pat Kelsey wasn't kidding about wanting the smoke.—
Leo Bertucci,
The Courier-Journal,
2 Sep. 2025
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In 2019, Lebanese depositors discovered that their banking system had, in effect, just been kidding about those savings accounts.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Faking out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faking%20out. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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