1
as in hoax
an imitation that is passed off as genuine
tests showed that the "old" map of America was a cleverly made humbug
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2
as in nonsense
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense
those UFO stories are a lot of humbug
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3
as in fraud
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
one humbug after another claimed to be the miraculously surviving daughter of the Russian czar
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as in to fool
to cause to believe what is untrue
humbugged into believing that the bones were the skeleton of a prehistoric human being
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as in nuts
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense
a lot of humbuggery about a mean old witch that lives in the woods
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of humbug
IEEE Spectrum, 16 Jan. 2024
Mean One features David Howard Thornton, known for playing Art the Clown in the Terrifier movies, as a familiar-looking green-skinned humbug in a Santa suit, living on a mountain high above the small town town of Newville.
—Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 July 2023
Elizabeth Wolfe and Douglas S. Wood, CNN, 21 Dec. 2019
See all Example Sentences for humbug 
Noun
Well then, the author cannot be blamed for what might be called the worldwide humbug over the robots.
—IEEE Spectrum, 16 Jan. 2024
Mean One features David Howard Thornton, known for playing Art the Clown in the Terrifier movies, as a familiar-looking green-skinned humbug in a Santa suit, living on a mountain high above the small town town of Newville.
—Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 July 2023
Verb
In its verb form, to be humbugged is to be deceived or be the victim of a hoax.
—Elizabeth Wolfe and Douglas S. Wood, CNN, 21 Dec. 2019
See all Example Sentences for humbug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humbug
Verb
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That rough rollout inspired immediate push-back and criticism from activists, some of which attached traffic cones to the hoods of cars to fool Cruise sensors and immobilize them.Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 11 Dec. 2024
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Don't be fooled into thinking a nice hotel is less likely to have bedbugs.Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY, 10 Dec. 2024
Verb
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This is critical, as 2G networks are far less secure than 3G and especially LTE and 5G. Simple network attack devices, which trick phones into jumping from real networks to local, fraudulent ones, try to make a 2G connection with lower encryption levels.Zak Doffman, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
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To trick the German forces into believing that a much larger American force was stationed in various locations, diverting attention away from the real operations and damaging enemy morale.Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 4 Dec. 2024
Verb
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File-sharing phishing attacks, are an email threat in which a cybercriminal legitimate file-hosting or e-signature solutions to deceive the victim.Davey Winder, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
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Listen to this article The U.S. Federal Trade Commission began sending payments to players of Fortnite who were deceived into making unwanted in-game purchases.David Matthews, New York Daily News, 10 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near humbug
Cite this Entry
“Humbug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humbug. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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