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View synonyms for hoax

hoax

[ hohks ]

noun

  1. something intended to deceive or defraud:

    The Piltdown man was a scientific hoax.

    Synonyms: humbug, imposture, fake, fraud, deception



verb (used with object)

  1. to deceive by a hoax; hoodwink.

hoax

/ həʊks /

noun

  1. a deception, esp a practical joke
“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


verb

  1. tr to deceive or play a joke on (someone)
“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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Derived Forms

  • ˈhoaxer, noun
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Other Words From

  • hoaxer noun
  • un·hoaxed adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of hoax1

First recorded in 1790–1800; perhaps contraction of hocus
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Word History and Origins

Origin of hoax1

C18: probably from hocus
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Example Sentences

The social network announced its new rules for ads on Tuesday, expanding a previous policy against ads touting vaccine hoaxes.

From Fortune

I thought I’d be having to deal with a lot more people thinking coronavirus is a hoax.

In the last 12 hours, the President had tweeted repeatedly about his poll numbers and various alleged hoaxes and conspiracies, but issued no statements about the tie-up between Oracle and TikTok.

From Fortune

Americans might have been less conflicted had they known that the baby incubator story was a hoax.

From Ozy

Within segments of the political blogosphere, global warming is dismissed as either a hoax or so uncertain as to be unworthy of response.

Jacintha Saldanha died in 2012, after receiving the hoax call to a London hospital treating the Duchess of Cambridge.

Hardly anyone, certainly no polite person, ever mentions the Tawana Brawley hoax anymore.

Are American leaders to pretend now that they perpetrated a hoax on Ukrainian leaders?

At the time, authorities in Leizhou denied the reports, asserting that the newspaper had been the victim of a hoax.

If this is all a hoax, Detweiler is a master of the charade.

The fact that the whole affair subsequently proved to be a hoax would not in the least disturb Hunt.

It was another hoax, and a most daring and gigantic one, on the part of Jack and his friends, upon their long-suffering tutor.

The atmosphere is perfect for our hoax and several of us who are "in the know" feel sort of creepy as we wait for the next flash.

Almost immediately it was announced that the news of the victory had been a hoax.

Smiling in appreciation of the proposed hoax the widow took a step or two.

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