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
Relevance
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
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 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
-
In the decades that followed, Freeman, who died in 2025, assembled a vast array of literary fakes, collecting books whose content is deceiving in nature.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Two culinary pros gave us the real scoop about how certain vanilla bean ice creams have been deceiving us all these years.—
Karla Walsh,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The report concluded that mirror cells could become a reality in the next 10 to 30 years and detailed the potentially devasting consequences if mirror bacteria were released into an environment and spread, evading natural biological controls and acting as dangerous pathogens.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
17 Oct. 2025
-
The film follows a Cuban socialite, an English schoolteacher, and an Irish Catholic priest in Miami who spearhead a daring operation to help more than 14,000 children escape communist indoctrination and begin new lives in America — evading Castro’s secret police at every turn.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
How to protect yourself from AI phishing scams AI phishing scams rely on tricking people into trusting what looks and sounds real.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Oct. 2025
-
Wire fraud in real estate involves scammers tricking buyers or sellers into sending money to fraudulent accounts.—
Collyn Wainwright,
Nashville Tennessean,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Only, Brown isn’t fooling himself.—
Janis Carr,
Oc Register,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Instead of fooling millions of people individually, attackers need only to compromise one AI model to reach millions at once.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
20 Sep. 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
Verb
-
The choice was made to tell a story about Shaka’s rise to leader of the Zulu Kingdom and his eventual assassination, taking in the figures who would define his reign.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
12 Oct. 2025
-
One photo shows Champion taking in a large light projection at teamLab Phenomena, a modern art museum, and another shows Schwarzenegger looking at a Cy Twombly painting series at the Louvre Abu Dhabi.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
What effect is this having on the WNBA?—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Just before Thursday’s taping Pence and Emanual met outside the greenroom, and each greeted each other warmly, quickly asking each other questions about their kids before anything else, while kidding with each other about a long unpaid bet.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Okay, kidding about that last part.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Faking out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faking%20out. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share