hoax
UK /həʊks/ · US /hoʊks/ verb, noun
Forms hoaxes hoaxing hoaxed
- verb (transitive) To deceive (someone) by making them believe something that has been maliciously or mischievously fabricated.
- noun Anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick. “The phone call to the police about a tiger in a tree turned out to be a hoax.”
Synonyms
canard fraud fraudulence dupery humbug put-on pull someone's leg play a joke on
Etymology
Reportedly a form of hocus. Possibly from hocus-pocus or Latin iocus (“joke”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A deception for mockery or mischief; a deceptive trick or story; a practical joke. Macaulay.
- verb To deceive by a story or a trick, for sport or mischief; to impose upon sportively. Lamb.
Etymology [Prob. contr. fr. hocus, in hocus-pocus.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “hoax”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details