hoax
verb
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Definition of hoax
(Entry 1 of 2)
hoax
nounDefinition of hoax (Entry 2 of 2)
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Synonyms & Antonyms for hoax
Synonyms: Verb
bamboozle, beguile, bluff, buffalo, burn, catch, con, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fake out, fool, gaff, gammon, gull, have, have on [chiefly British], hoodwink, hornswoggle, humbug, juggle, misguide, misinform, mislead, snooker, snow, spoof, string along, suck in, sucker, take in, trick
Synonyms: Noun
counterfeit, fake, forgery, humbug, phony (also phoney), sham
Antonyms: Verb
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Examples of hoax in a Sentence
Verb
a skilled forger who hoaxed the art world into believing that the paintings were long-lost VermeersNoun
The bomb threat is probably a hoax, but we should still evacuate the building. She was the victim of a cruel hoax.
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
False news articles were deliberately spread across our feeds to hoax us. — Joanna Stern, WSJ, "Facebook Portal Non-Review: Why I Didnāt Put Facebookās Camera in My Home," 8 Nov. 2018 The effort, dubbed #ThinkBeforeYouPost, reminds would-be pranksters that hoax threats are not a joke and could result in federal or state charges. — Karen Kucher, sandiegouniontribune.com, "FBI launches campaign to 'think before you post' hoax threats," 10 June 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Before his election, Trump had described climate change a Chinese hoax. — John Fritze, USA TODAY, "On climate, Trump says he won't lose nation's wealth to 'dreams and windmills'," 26 Aug. 2019 More recently the Heene Balloon Boy Hoax of Oct.15, 2009, joined a long list of schemes and scams in a state founded on what many called a gold hoax. — Tom Noel, The Know, "16 strange, spooky and (mostly) true Colorado stories to tell around a campfire," 24 Aug. 2019 The image appears to be a variation of a hoax that has regularly gone viral on Facebook over the past decade. — Alyssa Newcomb, Fortune, "Millions View Instagram Privacy Policy Hoax Shared by Rick Perry, Megan Rapinoe, Usher, and Julia Roberts," 21 Aug. 2019 Often they were missed, or the government panicked without reason, dragging along a public panicked by hoaxes posted online. — The Economist, "Obituary: Sutopo Purwo Nugroho died on July 7th," 10 Aug. 2019 The two also are accused of placing a hoax destructive device in the facility, according to prosecutors. — oregonlive.com, "Two Bend men face federal charges, accused of placing fake bomb at Deschutes County Courthouse," 9 Aug. 2019 Luckily, despite the realistic-looking photo and the councilwoman's bogus claims, blue waffle disease is nothing more than an internet hoax. — Christina Oehler, Health.com, "Is Blue Waffle Disease Real? Hereās What a Gynecologist Says," 23 July 2019 Several wellness fads, from celery juice to bogus diets, and dangerous misinformation trends, like anti-vaccination hoaxes. have prospered on the photo-sharing social network. — Anne Quito, Quartzy, "A new āuniversityā for Instagram influencers aims to stop the spread of misinformation," 23 July 2019 Does this pageās existence ā and popularity ā suggest Facebook is becoming a less attractive place for hoaxes? — Casey Newton, The Verge, "A Facebook civil rights audit could have unintended consequences," 2 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hoax.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for hoax
hoax
verb
English Language Learners Definition of hoax
(Entry 1 of 2)
hoax
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of hoax (Entry 2 of 2)
See the full definition for hoax in the English Language Learners Dictionary
hoax
verb
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