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
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
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
Verb
-
He was also accused of deceiving escrow agents to secure the release of pre-construction condo deposits and then misappropriated those funds for personal expenses unrelated to the developments.—
Jay Weaver
June 6,
Miami Herald,
6 June 2026
-
While the prominence resembles a fiery eruption, Johnston notes that looks can be deceiving.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
5 June 2026
Verb
-
The company and its advocates would rather debate the merits of one particular study instead of [ShotSpotter parent company] SoundThinking's track record of evading evidence based accountability in Chicago.—
Asal Rezaei,
CBS News,
3 June 2026
-
As of May 2024, Escalera faces multiple charges, including murder, third-degree burglary, second-degree burglary and evading police, according to The Courier-Journal.—
Corin Cesaric,
PEOPLE,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Such techniques typically work by tricking the user into approving a request to approve a device owned by the attacker instead.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
3 June 2026
-
While Matthew and Mu-won started Gojeuneok Bio together, Chang-ho has launched a cosmetics company that makes its money by tricking smaller companies into giving away the secrets behind their products.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
The other is fooling humans, particularly the dwindling number of journalists, critics, and other gatekeepers who are still capable of conferring legitimacy by paying attention.—
Lane Brown,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
-
After killing Minnesota’s first power play, the Avalanche opened the scoring when defenseman Sam Malinski scored his first career playoff goal, fooling Wallstedt with a rising wrist shot.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
However, while there may be no blood sucking in this particular novel, that doesn’t mean that the adaptation doesn’t have Rice’s trademark sensuality.—
Mathew Rodriguez,
Them.,
12 Nov. 2025
-
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 8th Congressional District covers Greeley and a small chunk of Larimer County and then heads south into Adams County, taking in several suburban communities north of Denver, including Commerce City, Thornton and Northglenn.—
John Aguilar,
Denver Post,
29 May 2026
-
The new trains will feature modern amenities, upgraded dining options and, perhaps most importantly, even bigger windows for taking in the views of some of the most dramatic scenery in the country.—
Graham Rapier,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
Faltering consumer Next week's nonfarm payrolls report for May will reveal the state of the labor market, and how much of an impact AI is having on jobs at a time of elevated inflation.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
29 May 2026
-
Correspondent Seth Doane travels to Amsterdam, Paris, Venice and Portofino to look at the impacts that tourism is having on cities, resorts and natural attractions, and why some people are resisting visitors – or redefining tourism – in some of the world's most popular and fragile destinations.—
David Morgan,
CBS News,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
The connection to nature at Vista Celestial is truly profound, with wildlife waiting for you at the door—I'm not kidding, at one point, a capuchin monkey walked onto our patio to say hello.—
Christina Perrier,
InStyle,
8 June 2026
-
And even while kidding, Kupp couldn’t help but say out loud what many Rams followers are thinking.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Faking out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faking%20out. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
