hoaxed; hoaxing; hoaxes
: to trick into believing or accepting as genuine something false and often preposterous
were hoaxed by the website
hoaxer
noun
1
: an act intended to trick or dupe : imposture
the victim of a cruel hoax
assumed the bomb threat was just a hoax
2
: something accepted or established by fraud or fabrication
believes the Loch Ness Monster is a hoax
a literary hoax
Synonyms
Examples of hoax in a Sentence
Verb
a skilled forger who hoaxed the art world into believing that the paintings were long-lost Vermeers
Noun
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
Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 10 June 2024
Such criticism has led some police to respond more aggressively to hoax school shooting calls.
—Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 5 Oct. 2023
Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Matthew Muller, a Harvard lawyer and former Marine who grew up in Sacramento County, is serving a 40-year prison sentence for kidnapping and raping Denise Huskins, now Denise Huskins Quinn, in March 2015 — events that the Vallejo Police Department initially deemed a hoax.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for hoax 
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Verb
Doxxed addresses have led to hoax 911 calls that prompted SWAT teams to raid victims’ homes.
—Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 10 June 2024
Such criticism has led some police to respond more aggressively to hoax school shooting calls.
—Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 5 Oct. 2023
Noun
The hoax comes 10 days before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
—Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Matthew Muller, a Harvard lawyer and former Marine who grew up in Sacramento County, is serving a 40-year prison sentence for kidnapping and raping Denise Huskins, now Denise Huskins Quinn, in March 2015 — events that the Vallejo Police Department initially deemed a hoax.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for hoax
Dictionary Entries Near hoax
Cite this Entry
“Hoax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoax. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
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