dupe

[ doop, dyoop ]

See synonyms for: dupe duped dupable on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who is easily deceived or fooled; gull.
a person who unquestioningly or unwittingly serves a cause or another person: a dupe of the opponents.

verb (used with object),duped, dup·ing.

to make a dupe of; deceive; delude; trick.

Origin of dupe

First recorded in 1675–85; from French; Middle French duppe for unattested tête d'uppe “head of hoopoe,” i.e., “fool” (compare tête de fou ), from unattested Vulgar Latin uppa, Latin upupa “hoopoe,” a bird thought to be especially stupid; cf. hoopoe

Other words from dupe

dup·a·ble, adjective
dup·a·bil·i·ty [doo-puh-bil-i-tee, dyoo-], /ˌdu pəˈbɪl ɪ ti, ˌdyu-/, noun
dup·er, noun
un·dup·a·ble, adjective

Words Nearby dupe

Other definitions for dupe (2 of 2)

dupe²

[ doop, dyoop ]

noun

duplicate.
Movies.
- a duplicate picture negative used for making additional release prints or for making special effects to be inserted in the release negative.
- the procedure for producing such a duplicate.

Television. a duplicate videotape obtained by electronic printing of the original videotape.

verb (used with or without object),duped, dup·ing.

to duplicate.

adjective

duplicate.

Origin of dupe

First recorded in 1895–90; by shortening

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dupe in a sentence

Wohl and Burkman also duped The Washington Post last year, when the pair staged a fake FBI raid that The Post briefly reported on, then removed.
FCC proposes record $5 million fine against Jacob Wohl, Jack Burkman for election robocalls | Rachel Lerman | August 24, 2021 | Washington Post
It is insulting to suggest that they are mere dupes or tools.
Supreme Court gives another big green light to GOP voting restrictions | Aaron Blake | July 1, 2021 | Washington Post
“I understand, sir,” said Young, an MBA graduate who has said he felt “duped” by the Oath Keepers and whose sister has also been charged after signing up with the group.
Second alleged Oath Keepers member pleads guilty in Jan. 6 Capitol riot, will cooperate as prosecutors seek momentum | Spencer Hsu | June 23, 2021 | Washington Post
However, we are less inclined to accept being duped into voting a certain way by big tech social media forces.
To What Extent Are We Ruled by Unconscious Forces? | Magda Osman | May 31, 2021 | Singularity Hub
The males co-opted by the fungus also flick their wings like females to dupe other males into attempting sex.
A fungus could turn some cicadas into sex-crazed ‘salt shakers of death’ | Marisa Iati | May 19, 2021 | Washington Post

It was a beautified camp the Nazis used to dupe international visitors and officials.
How Do You Write About the Holocaust? | Ilana Bet-El | May 5, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Anyone who disagreed with their thinking, including fellow Republicans, was a traitor, or a liar, or a dupe.
Republicans Allowed Karl Rove to Mislead Them Again | Matt Latimer | November 17, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Steven decided to dupe his doctor when he returned from his elite boarding school exhausted by the intense competition there.
Faking ADHD Gets You Into Harvard | Heidi Mitchell | January 25, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
But they apparently rejected the idea that Rana remained a dupe once the carnage in India had happened.
Chicago Trial's Explosive Revelations | ProPublica | June 10, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Parker would dupe customers into buying polyester sweaters he claimed were 100 percent cashmere, then gloat about how easy it was.
Partying All the Way to Jail | Peter Davis | December 21, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
But Mr. Howard, dupe or rogue, was extremely busy in publishing to the world the particulars of this extraordinary case.
The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries | Charles G. Harper
He knows when a sentiment is simple and when it is complex, when the heart is a dupe of the mind and when of the senses.
Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z | Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
Had my spirit really been transported to the planet Mars, or had I been the dupe of a purely imaginary illusion?
Urania | Camille Flammarion
He imagined himself the dupe of one of those mirages which he had more than once beheld when in his dreamy moods.
Toilers of the Sea | Victor Hugo
Whoever does not know this and is a Socialist, that man is merely one of the herd or he is a dupe.
The New Society | Walther Rathenau

British Dictionary definitions for dupe

dupe

/ (djuːp) /

noun

a person who is easily deceived
a person who unwittingly serves as the tool of another person or power

verb

(tr) to deceive, esp by trickery; make a dupe or tool of; cheat; fool

Origin of dupe

C17: from French, from Old French duppe, contraction of de huppe of (a) hoopoe (from Latin upupa); from the bird's reputation for extreme stupidity

Derived forms of dupe

dupable, adjective
dupability, noun
duper, noun
dupery, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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