as in counterfeit
an imitation that is passed off as genuine
the skeleton of the purported ancient hominid turned out to be a hoax
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to trick
to cause to believe what is untrue
a skilled forger who hoaxed the art world into believing that the paintings were long-lost Vermeers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of hoax
Stefan Becket, CBS News, 2 Oct. 2024
Within a year, the story was downgraded to a hoax and Unger was both out of a job at Newsweek and being sued for $10 million.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2024
Mimansa Verma, Quartz, 30 Mar. 2023
Related:Teen jailed after bomb threat hoax AirDropped to American Airlines passengers in El Paso The passenger was traveling with a companion and both were unharmed, though their clothes were soiled with food and wine.
—Dallas News, 2 Mar. 2023
See all Example Sentences for hoax 
Noun
The Governor mentioned that President Trump has called climate change a hoax.
—Stefan Becket, CBS News, 2 Oct. 2024
Within a year, the story was downgraded to a hoax and Unger was both out of a job at Newsweek and being sued for $10 million.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2024
Verb
Advertisement How aspiring Indian entrepreneurs and students were hoaxed in the quest for funding The World Startup Convention was originally scheduled for Jan. 14-16., before it was postponed to March 24-26.
—Mimansa Verma, Quartz, 30 Mar. 2023
Related:Teen jailed after bomb threat hoax AirDropped to American Airlines passengers in El Paso The passenger was traveling with a companion and both were unharmed, though their clothes were soiled with food and wine.
—Dallas News, 2 Mar. 2023
See all Example Sentences for hoax
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoax
Noun
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For many brands, the process of identifying counterfeits starts with conducting test purchases of products online.Annie Palmer,Katie Tarasov, CNBC, 25 Oct. 2024
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Crane specializes in micro-optic securities to protect products against counterfeits.Pia Singh, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2024
Verb
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The tools take advantage of Generative adversarial networks, which, in essence, try to trick the AI algorithm with incorrect (i.e., adversarial) data.PCMAG, PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
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The stunning corruption scheme finally came to an end in September 2013, when authorities tricked his NCIS mole into thinking the most serious investigations had been closed and then invited Francis to San Diego for a meeting with Navy officials.Alex Riggins, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
Noun
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These worries extend beyond potential deep fakes and foreign intervention, which have dominated recent news coverage.Nizan Geslevich Packin, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
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State of play: Election officials in heavily Latino states like Arizona have already expressed concerns about the use of deep fakes.Marina E. Franco (Noticias Telemundo for Axios), Axios, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Your partner is either fooling himself or attempting to fool you.R. Eric Thomas, The Mercury News, 4 Nov. 2024
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Fischer, who played the paper company's receptionist Pam (until she was promoted), explained that creator Greg Daniels even filmed a fake version of the episode to fool them.Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
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The 2023 trial that led to his death sentence had been widely condemned as a sham by Germany, the United States and multiple international human rights organizations.Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
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The elections promised by the junta, slated for 2025, have also been denounced both domestically and internationally as a sham that would grant the junta the guise of legitimacy but offer little actual democracy.Koh Ewe, TIME, 1 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Have both deceived themselves about their ambitions, their desires, their essential natures?Sara Holdren, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024
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Decisions made in good faith leave you vulnerable to being deceived as the moon clashes with Neptune.USA TODAY, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Their charges include fraud, money laundering and forgery.Benjamin VanHoose, Peoplemag, 25 Sep. 2024
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Specifically, the couple faces 286 charges at the state level, including felony charges of abuse of a corpse, theft, money laundering, and forgery, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 6 Aug. 2024
Noun
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Romney had been one of Trump’s most strident critics in the 2016 election, calling him a phony and a fraud.Hannah Schoenbaum, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2024
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The comment was Vance's response after Beshear had previously called him a phony and not a Kentuckian and implied heavily that nepotism was the only reason Beshear is governor.Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 25 July 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near hoax
Cite this Entry
“Hoax.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoax. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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