hoax
Noun:
- A deceptive act or fabrication: Something deliberately created to trick or deceive people, often presented as true.
- A practical joke of a mischievous or elaborate nature: A playful trick intended to cause amusement or mild embarrassment upon revelation.
Verb:
- To deceive someone as a joke or trick: To play a trick on someone by making them believe something that is not true.
Noun: The report of a monster in the lake turned out to be a hoax.They created an elaborate hoax, complete with fake documents and witnesses.
Verb: The students hoaxed the new teacher by pretending the class had been canceled.He was hoaxed into believing he had won a fake lottery.
"to perpetrate a hoax": to carry out or execute a deception. The group was arrested for perpetrating a financial hoax on elderly investors.
"to expose/debunk a hoax": to reveal something as a deception. Investigative journalists worked to expose the hoax before it caused widespread panic.
"an elaborate/clever hoax": a deception that is complex and well-planned. The painting was discovered to be an elaborate hoax, not a lost masterpiece.
Hoaxer (n): A person who creates or carries out a hoax. The hoaxer confessed after the news story went viral.
Hoaxing (n/adj): The act of deceiving someone with a hoax; characteristic of a hoax. The hoaxing of the public caused a significant scandal.
- Noun: Deception, fraud, trick, prank, canard, fabrication, ruse.
- Verb: Deceive, trick, dupe, fool, hoodwink, pull someone's leg.
"A cruel hoax": A deception that causes distress or harm. The promise of a cure for the disease was a cruel hoax.
"To fall for a hoax": To be deceived by a trick. Many people fell for the online hoax and shared the false information.
- something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage
- subject to a playful hoax or joke