1
as in to trick
to cause to believe what is untrue
my friends faked me out for a whole day, letting me think that they had forgotten my birthday
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to evade
to elude (an opponent in a sports contest) by making a deceptive or agile movement
used a quick between-the-legs dribble to fake out the flat-footed defender
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fake out
Jokic faked out multiple Cavs defenders in transition by turning his head toward an open Murray on the left wing, only to fire a no-look pass to Christian Braun under the basket.
—
Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 6 Dec. 2024
Torre faked out left back Josh Wildon-Esbrand and rocketed his shot into the back of the net to give the Spanish side the lead heading into halftime.
—Kyle Foley, Orlando Sentinel, 31 July 2024
The discography deep-dive portion of the set list kicked off with something of a fake out.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2024
Along the way, there’s illegitimate children, fake out deaths, and just about every soap opera cliché imaginable wrapped in gloriously stupid fun.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fake out
Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 6 Dec. 2024
Torre faked out left back Josh Wildon-Esbrand and rocketed his shot into the back of the net to give the Spanish side the lead heading into halftime.
—Kyle Foley, Orlando Sentinel, 31 July 2024
The discography deep-dive portion of the set list kicked off with something of a fake out.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2024
Along the way, there’s illegitimate children, fake out deaths, and just about every soap opera cliché imaginable wrapped in gloriously stupid fun.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fake out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fake out
Verb
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Increasingly, criminals are able to use commonly available tools to launch sophisticated phishing scams, going as far as digitally replicating faces and voices in order to trick security systems.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes,
20 Mar. 2025
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Phishing is a cyber-attack that aims to trick people into divulging personal information.—
Solcyré Burga,
TIME,
13 Mar. 2025
Verb
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DeAngelo evaded prosecution for years while committing a string of murders and rapes across the Golden State between 1974 and 1986, including two murders and nine kidnappings in Sacramento County alone.—
Lia Russell,
Sacramento Bee,
22 Mar. 2025
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No criticism about images today can evade the question of improbable scale.—
Emmanuel Iduma,
ARTnews.com,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Don't let anyone fool you into abandoning the single most effective social program in our nation's history.—
John T. Harvey,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
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Likely draft position: Early-mid rounds Cam Miller, QB, North Dakota State: Don’t be fooled by Miller spending five years at the FCS level.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
25 Mar. 2025
Verb
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People who fake disability — this is the major area of fraud in the Social Security system.—
Thomas Hager,
Forbes,
25 Mar. 2025
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Season 4, which bowed roughly two years ago, found Penn Badgley's twisted bookseller moving to London after faking his death in the previous season.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
15 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Any clinic that is promising instant, full growth in a few weeks is deceiving you.—
Rowan Briggs,
The Mercury News,
19 Mar. 2025
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Holding a lot of cash in the bank may feel like the absolute most comfortable option, but don’t be deceived.—
Eric Roberge,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Fairy lights strung along the awnings of each business are twinkling.—
Cat Sposato,
AFAR Media,
18 Mar. 2025
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Or will we just get strung along, like so many shows have done to us in the past?—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
26 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Drive through deep water, and your diffs may also suck in a little bit of moisture, slowly polluting the oil that lubricates them.—
Wes Siler,
Outside Online,
2 Mar. 2025
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Related article Engaging your core is not the same as sucking in your belly.—
Dana Santas,
CNN,
12 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fake out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fake%20out. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.
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