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
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
Peter White, Deadline, 22 July 2025
Doxxed addresses have led to hoax 911 calls that prompted SWAT teams to raid victims’ homes.
—Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 10 June 2024
William "coty" Keller, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 July 2025
While half the town is eager to see the virus controlled, the other half is convinced that their smug neighbors are using a hoax of a pandemic to control and mistreat them.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for hoax
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
The Jussie Smollett hoax hate crime attack saga is set to be explored in a new documentary.
—Peter White, Deadline, 22 July 2025
Doxxed addresses have led to hoax 911 calls that prompted SWAT teams to raid victims’ homes.
—Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 10 June 2024
Noun
Science and the truth don’t go well with the falsehood that climate change is a hoax.
—William "coty" Keller, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 July 2025
While half the town is eager to see the virus controlled, the other half is convinced that their smug neighbors are using a hoax of a pandemic to control and mistreat them.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for hoax
Cite this Entry
“Hoax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoax. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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