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
Relevance
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
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 hoax
Tovia Smith, NPR, 6 June 2025
Authorities determined the carjacking was nothing more than a hoax with a goal of quick cash by way of insurance fraud, sheriff officials said.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2025
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
Jones declared bankruptcy after the Sandy Hook families won $1.3 billion in two defamation suits in Connecticut and Texas after Jones spread bogus conspiracy theories that the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., was a hoax.
—Tovia Smith, NPR, 6 June 2025
Authorities determined the carjacking was nothing more than a hoax with a goal of quick cash by way of insurance fraud, sheriff officials said.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2025
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
-
Longer answer: Many of these products are either mass-produced by unbranded manufacturers or straight-up counterfeit.—
Francesca Krempa,
StyleCaster,
10 Apr. 2025
-
On counterfeits, the color is almost always wrong, usually a highlighter shade of yellow instead.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
That was the crux of the latest Gmail attack, tricking users into sharing codes.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
-
But rather than trying to trick users into heading to a fake website, the visitor is instead taken to the brand's legitimate website, with a small but dangerous difference.—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
21 June 2025
Noun
-
Spotting The Scam: What Deepfakes Still Get Wrong Even the smartest fakes leave fingerprints.—
Anastasia Paruntseva,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
-
When fakes are passed off as the real thing, of course that would lead to murder.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
11 June 2025
Verb
-
Even though baby clothes and newborn diapers feel too tiny to wreak havoc, don’t be fooled!—
Briana Feigon,
Architectural Digest,
19 June 2025
-
Perhaps that’s what fans were griping about last year — that Burns didn’t have it anymore and Slavin was papering over all those issues, enough to fool this model.—
Dom Luszczyszyn,
New York Times,
18 June 2025
Noun
-
The quilt and sham are stuffed with artificial down to provide a cozy feel.—
Jacqueline Tempera,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 June 2025
-
This set features two pillow shams, duvet cover, and flat and fitted sheet.—
Gina Vaynshteyn,
StyleCaster,
23 May 2025
Verb
-
Notably, 40 percent acknowledged faking activity to deceive monitoring systems, suggesting a struggle to maintain consistent performance outside traditional office settings.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 June 2025
-
So there’s an interesting, dark comedy element to people that are deceiving themselves.—
Mark Hughes,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
Noun
-
Wraps were—in marketing, if not always in reality—lower-calorie and lower-carb than normal sandwiches, all that pillowy, delicious bread having been replaced with a utilitarian tortilla forgery that tasted and looked virtuous, especially when it was flecked with spinach or tomato.—
Ellen Cushing,
The Atlantic,
25 June 2025
-
Toni Heath Johnson has various felony convictions dating back to the 1980s, including forgery, credit card theft and bigamy.—
Zach Schonfeld,
The Hill,
23 June 2025
Noun
-
For a Gen X-er raised on movies that skewered phonies and wannabes, the thought of being a poser was, in the end, far more offensive to his sensibilities than being potentially bland.—
Rachel Syme,
The New Yorker,
23 Dec. 2024
-
The answer is important because being a phony is hard work.—
LaRae Quy,
Forbes,
20 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Hoax.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoax. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share