hoaxed; hoaxing; hoaxes
: to trick into believing or accepting as genuine something false and often preposterous
were hoaxed by the website
hoaxer
noun
1
: an act intended to trick or dupe : imposture
the victim of a cruel hoax
assumed the bomb threat was just a hoax
2
: something accepted or established by fraud or fabrication
believes the Loch Ness Monster is a hoax
a literary hoax
Synonyms
Examples of hoax in a Sentence
Verb
a skilled forger who hoaxed the art world into believing that the paintings were long-lost Vermeers
Noun
The bomb threat is probably a hoax, but we should still evacuate the building.
She was the victim of a cruel hoax.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 5 Oct. 2023
Students recall fear, confusion as Harvard University police responded to hoax emergency call Ultimately, the blame for any swatting incident belongs with the caller reporting the hoax, Davis said.
—John Hilliard, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Apr. 2023
The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were part of Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to ‘’unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption’' and for his efforts to ‘’confront the impeachment witch hunt.
—BostonGlobe.com, 6 Apr. 2023
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
After trying to hoax journalists with Project Veritas, Loomer moved to direct confrontations with public figures in recent years, disrupting interviews and news conferences.
—Terry Spencer, orlandosentinel.com, 19 Aug. 2020
False news articles were deliberately spread across our feeds to hoax us.
—Joanna Stern, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2018
The effort, dubbed #ThinkBeforeYouPost, reminds would-be pranksters that hoax threats are not a joke and could result in federal or state charges.
—Karen Kucher, sandiegouniontribune.com, 10 June 2018
Hazlitt, 3 Apr. 2024
Greene’s a high-profile proponent of the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, and has previously peddled wild conspiracy theories, like QAnon, as well as suggesting that the 9/11 attack was a hoax and that Jewish space lasers are responsible for wildfires.
—Brian Bennett, TIME, 2 Apr. 2024
One theory tying the source of April Fools' Day to Roman times is a hoax.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2024
After Taco Bell admitted the whole thing was a hoax, the company offered to donate $50,000 towards preservation of the bell.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2024
The dangerous hoax has been on the FBI’s radar for nearly two decades and became more widely known as celebrities were targeted.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2024
Just this week, bomb threats were reported at government buildings in at least ten states, forcing lockdowns and evacuations at state capitols and courthouses across the country before the FBI determined the threats were a hoax.
—Nbc Universal, NBC News, 7 Jan. 2024
Deepfakes, misinformation, and high-tech hoaxes threaten disclosure Most companies today have a robust cybersecurity infrastructure to maintain the integrity of financial information.
—Richard Torrenzano, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2024
Officials say the new security environment is plagued by hoaxes and harassment that sap police resources, spread fear and increasingly disrupt all parts of American life, from government to schools, businesses and private homes.
—Devlin Barrett, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2024
Verb
Such criticism has led some police to respond more aggressively to hoax school shooting calls.
—Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 5 Oct. 2023
Students recall fear, confusion as Harvard University police responded to hoax emergency call Ultimately, the blame for any swatting incident belongs with the caller reporting the hoax, Davis said.
—John Hilliard, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Apr. 2023
The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were part of Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to ‘’unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption’' and for his efforts to ‘’confront the impeachment witch hunt.
—BostonGlobe.com, 6 Apr. 2023
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
After trying to hoax journalists with Project Veritas, Loomer moved to direct confrontations with public figures in recent years, disrupting interviews and news conferences.
—Terry Spencer, orlandosentinel.com, 19 Aug. 2020
False news articles were deliberately spread across our feeds to hoax us.
—Joanna Stern, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2018
The effort, dubbed #ThinkBeforeYouPost, reminds would-be pranksters that hoax threats are not a joke and could result in federal or state charges.
—Karen Kucher, sandiegouniontribune.com, 10 June 2018
Noun
After an internet uproar, Reddit users found that the location was in Chicago, someone called the police, and the police found nothing, eventually determining the secret was a hoax.
—Hazlitt, 3 Apr. 2024
Greene’s a high-profile proponent of the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, and has previously peddled wild conspiracy theories, like QAnon, as well as suggesting that the 9/11 attack was a hoax and that Jewish space lasers are responsible for wildfires.
—Brian Bennett, TIME, 2 Apr. 2024
One theory tying the source of April Fools' Day to Roman times is a hoax.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2024
After Taco Bell admitted the whole thing was a hoax, the company offered to donate $50,000 towards preservation of the bell.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2024
The dangerous hoax has been on the FBI’s radar for nearly two decades and became more widely known as celebrities were targeted.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2024
Just this week, bomb threats were reported at government buildings in at least ten states, forcing lockdowns and evacuations at state capitols and courthouses across the country before the FBI determined the threats were a hoax.
—Nbc Universal, NBC News, 7 Jan. 2024
Deepfakes, misinformation, and high-tech hoaxes threaten disclosure Most companies today have a robust cybersecurity infrastructure to maintain the integrity of financial information.
—Richard Torrenzano, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2024
Officials say the new security environment is plagued by hoaxes and harassment that sap police resources, spread fear and increasingly disrupt all parts of American life, from government to schools, businesses and private homes.
—Devlin Barrett, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hoax.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near hoax
Cite this Entry
“Hoax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoax. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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