FAKING OUT Synonyms: 84 Similar and Opposite Words

faking out

verb

present participle of fake out

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Verb

The public deserves to know which of his points were defensible and which were deceiving.

— Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
At Ground Zero, 9/11 widow Terry Strada accused Saudi Arabia of deceiving victims’ families and urged the administration to rethink Washington’s close ties as a landmark lawsuit moves forward.

— Collin Binkley, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of deceiving

Verb

Garcia entered a plea and was convicted of evading police officers before his trial in June.

— Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 8 Sep. 2026
The recent changes followed reports that some foreign residents had been driving up home prices or evading payments for their public health insurance.

— Christine Miyawaki, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of evading

Verb

An English springer spaniel in Alabama loves nothing more than spending her whole day in the pool and has taken to tricking her parents into letting her into the pool every day.

— Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026
In many cases, the robot tail wags the living dog by tricking it—tricking us—into caring about obscure metrics, then gamifying the process of improving them.

— Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 28 Aug. 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

Aquarium officials received some 500 marine animals from that operation on June 19, taking in an array of fish, sharks, clams, shrimp, prawns and tiny snails.

— John Donegan LONG BEACH POST, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026
Brandon Aubrey might be the only kicker worth taking in Round 11 or 12.

— Jonathan Rubin, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 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

Browse Nearby Words

faking

faking out

fakir

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“Faking out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faking%20out. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of faking out

verb

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