hoax

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verb

ˈhōks

hoaxed; hoaxing; hoaxes

Synonyms of hoax next

transitive verb

: to trick into believing or accepting as genuine something false and often preposterous

were hoaxed by the website

hoaxer noun

hoax

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noun

: an act intended to trick or dupe : imposture

the victim of a cruel hoax

assumed the bomb threat was just a hoax

: something accepted or established by fraud or fabrication

believes the Loch Ness Monster is a hoax

a literary hoax

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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

Jones repeatedly called the shooting that killed 20 children and six educators a hoax staged by actors and aimed at increasing gun control. —

CBS News, 11 Dec. 2024 Jones’s site was put up for sale as part of his bankruptcy case in the wake of the nearly $1.5 billion that courts ordered Jones to pay families tied to the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings for falsely calling the massacre a hoax. —

Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 11 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hoax