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
Relevance
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
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.
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
-
That difference between them proves rather problematic when Stuart tricks Ted into merging their firm with another that's coincidentally run by Ted's ex, Samantha (Rachelle Goulding), and then cuts his partner out of the deal.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA TODAY,
25 Feb. 2025
-
Phishing emails, malware-laden attachments and fraudulent schemes now lurk within spam messages, tricking unsuspecting users into clicking malicious links, revealing sensitive information or even infecting their devices with ransomware and spyware.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
Fox News,
23 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Colt escapes by initially driving a speedboat while facing away from the controls, evades his pursuers by zigging and zagging through the river, and then purposefully drives his boat into a floating pontoon, faking his own death via the gigantic explosion.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Now, however, DHS states that the previous rules hindered law enforcement efforts by creating sites where people without legal status could evade capture.—
Jackie Fortiér,
NPR,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Lohse even managed to fool historian Jonathan Petropoulos, who is at the center of the documentary, and spent years investigating Lohse, only to be tricked by him.—
The Editors of ARTnews,
ARTnews.com,
20 Feb. 2025
-
Was their advocacy for new energy sources just a ploy to fool their constituents and get reelected?—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
19 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Others would rather fake a Wi-Fi outage than unmute.—
William Arruda,
Forbes,
18 Feb. 2025
-
Make Pleasure a Priority (Especially for Her) Too many women have reported faking orgasms, and that’s a problem.—
Dominique Fluker,
Essence,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Photo : Volkswagen No, your eyes do not deceive you, a Volkswagen did earn itself a spot on the list of the greatest luxury vehicles of all time.—
Raphael Orlove,
Robb Report,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Despite providing historical records and even materials for a documentary on Bad Boy Entertainment in 2021, Burrowes says he was once again deceived and left unpaid for his contributions.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Or will we just get strung along, like so many shows have done to us in the past?—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
26 Jan. 2025
-
To be sure, there are risks that Iran could use negotiations to string along the international community, seek to divide the United States and Europe with counterproposals, and deflect further sanctions.—
Dmitry Adamsky,
Foreign Affairs,
20 Feb. 2011
Verb
-
In the past 15 years alone, Tesla, Musk’s $1.1 trillion company, and SpaceX, his $350 billion valuation company, have sucked in a stunning $30 billion in public dollars.—
Alan Ohnsman,
Forbes,
21 Feb. 2025
-
Typically, at the end of a permanent press cycle, the dryer sucks in cooler air (or room temperature air) to relax lingering wrinkles on the clothes.—
Nafeesah Allen,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fake out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fake%20out. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share