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

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• hoaxer noun
• unhoaxed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hoax¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; perhaps contraction of hocus

Word History and Origins

Origin of hoax¹

C18: probably from _hocus

Example Sentences

Never mind that the commission doesn’t need the policy to confront legitimate offenses; it has a rule banning broadcast hoaxes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“I heard it’s a hoax. And then all of a sudden, he’s going to release the files. I thought there were no files. He wants an investigation now. Like, what is going on?”

Read more on Salon

House Speaker Mike Johnson had repeatedly called the push to release the Epstein files a "Democrat hoax".

Read more on BBC

It comes after months of refusing to address the Epstein files as anything other than “a hoax.”

Read more on Salon

He calls it the Epstein “hoax,” a word, it pays to remember, with a specific resonance in Trumpspeak.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal