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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Example Sentences
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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
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But O’Malley writes that this is deceiving.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
9 June 2026
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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
Verb
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She was later arrested on suspicion of evading police and assault with a deadly weapon on an officer, investigators said.—
Caleb Lunetta,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 June 2026
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Daniels later pleaded no contest to evading a police officer, court records show, in a deal that saw prosecutors dismiss numerous other charges, including second degree burglary of a vehicle and four counts of assault on a police officer.—
Harry Harris,
Mercury News,
8 June 2026
Verb
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Posts from other Knicks fans say the user tried tricking them as well.—
Tim McNicholas,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
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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
Verb
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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
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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
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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
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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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Sure enough, Dick took off with the other packhorses stringing along behind him.—
Dolores Brown,
Outdoor Life,
17 June 2026
Verb
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The film was a smash hit, taking in more than $70 million at the box office.—
Linnea Wicklund,
Chicago Tribune,
19 June 2026
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Beyond that there are long hallways with white tile floors and white walls that lead to rooms full of loud machines taking in, transforming and distributing large amounts of electricity throughout the building.—
David Wade,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
Verb
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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
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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
Cite this Entry
“Faking out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faking%20out. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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