faking out

verb

present participle of fake out
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

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 In the 80th minute, Denkey received an assist from Ender Echenique, faking out goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos before finishing with his left foot between a pair of defenders. — ABC News, 21 Feb. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for faking out
  1. deceiving
  2. evading
  3. tricking
  4. fooling
  5. sucking in
  6. stringing along
  7. taking in
  8. having on
Verb
  • But looks are deceiving in this case – just like the 3X Plus and 3X before it, the trailer stretches out via three individual telescopic segments that emerge at the push of a button.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Facebook’s lawyers argued that the state failed to prove whether people were actually harmed by these deceiving statements.
    — Mikella Schuettler, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of deceiving
Verb
  • Key Takeaways Anthropic used Claude to generate training datasets that made other AI models exhibit misaligned behavior while evading safety monitors.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 31 Oct. 2026
  • Nvidia said that Megaspeed had already been investigated for evading export controls.
    — Kif Leswing, CNBC, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of evading
Verb
  • In 2020, a group of political operatives working closely with Florida Power and Light sought to derail Rodríguez’s re-election campaign for the Senate by tricking voters into voting for an independent candidate with the same last name.
    — Jeffrey Schweers, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The top-performing red teamer on the original Arena was a lawyer from Melbourne who just happened to be good at tricking models into jumping their guardrails.
    — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of tricking
Verb
  • In the highlight, Marshall retrieves the ball and oddly fires it back to the infield, fooling no one.
    — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Anybody hoping that a Netanyahu defeat in October and the emergence of a less controversial successor will reset the table is likely fooling themselves.
    — Daniel DePetris, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of fooling
Verb
  • One high-energy neutrino came from a blazar – a supermassive black hole sucking in matter from its host galaxy and spewing some of it into a jet thousands of light-years long and pointed straight at Earth.
    — Tyce DeYoung, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Grow up and start worrying more about not sucking in Yankee Stadium.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of sucking in
Verb
  • Sure enough, Dick took off with the other packhorses stringing along behind him.
    — Dolores Brown, Outdoor Life, 17 June 2026
Definition of stringing along
Verb
  • Dressed in a sharp black three-piece suit and a dapper yellow bow tie, Lubelo Mthenjana stands alone on a dark stage, taking in the last few seconds of quiet before the curtain opens.
    — Julie Bourdin, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Insulin is a hormone that promotes cells taking in sugar to use for energy.
    — Brittany Poulson, Verywell Health, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of taking in
Verb
  • Yet despite some positive results, both economists and on-the-ground workers are calling attention to the negative impact AI is already having on the labor market.
    — Sebastian Herrera, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026
  • The conversations that high-level leaders are having on a daily basis are less about tasks and execution and more about the capacity of their workforce.
    — Laura Weldy, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
Definition of having on

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Cite this Entry

“Faking out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faking%20out. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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