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hoax

[ hohks ]

/ hoʊks /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR hoax ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

something intended to deceive or defraud: The Piltdown man was a scientific hoax.

verb (used with object)

to deceive by a hoax; hoodwink.

Origin of hoax

First recorded in 1790–1800; perhaps contraction of hocus

SYNONYMS FOR hoax

1 deception, fraud, fake, imposture, humbug.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR hoax ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM hoax

hoax·er, noun un·hoaxed, adjective

Words nearby hoax

hoary marmot, hoary-headed, hoast, hoatching, hoatzin, hoax, hob, hoban, hobart, hobbema, hobbes

Example sentences from the Web for hoax

Jacintha Saldanha died in 2012, after receiving the hoax call to a London hospital treating the Duchess of Cambridge.

Kate Prank Call DJ Tells of Death Threats |Tom Sykes |October 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Hardly anyone, certainly no polite person, ever mentions the Tawana Brawley hoax anymore.

Al Sharpton: I’m No Snitch |Lloyd Grove |April 8, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Are American leaders to pretend now that they perpetrated a hoax on Ukrainian leaders?

Les Gelb Puts Russia in Its Place—and Critics in Theirs |Leslie H. Gelb |April 2, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
At the time, authorities in Leizhou denied the reports, asserting that the newspaper had been the victim of a hoax.

Why Do Chinese Oligarchs Secretly Love Illegal Tiger Meat? |Jake Adelstein |March 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

If this is all a hoax, Detweiler is a master of the charade.

The Mystery of FluteDrop: D.J. Detweiler Pairs Miley Cyrus With Woodwinds |Gideon Resnick |March 5, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Does that look as if I tried to hoax the world for sordid gain, as my enemies would like the public to believe?

My Attainment of the Pole |Frederick A. Cook
I was declared a brazen cheat who had concocted the most colossal lie of ages whereby to hoax an entire world for gain.

My Attainment of the Pole |Frederick A. Cook
The next time Mrs. Traynor receives a sudden message about her baby it will not be a hoax.

The Mask |Arthur Hornblow
It was difficult for her to make up her mind whether or not the entire arrangement was a hoax.

Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key |Joan Clark
There is always a reason for wanting to perpetrate the hoax, or a reason for believing it will be believed.

Mince PieAuthor: Christopher Darlington MorleyRelease Date: October 10, 2004 [eBook #13694] |Christopher Darlington Morley

British Dictionary definitions for hoax

hoax

/ (həʊks) /

noun

a deception, esp a practical joke

verb

(tr) to deceive or play a joke on (someone)

Derived forms of hoax

hoaxer, noun

Word Origin for hoax

C18: probably from hocus