1
as in to trick
to cause to believe what is untrue
my friends faked me out for a whole day, letting me think that they had forgotten my birthday
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to evade
to elude (an opponent in a sports contest) by making a deceptive or agile movement
used a quick between-the-legs dribble to fake out the flat-footed defender
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fake out
Marner faked out Swayman and tucked the winner behind the goalie.
—
Fluto Shinzawa, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
This opening fake out is a direct lift from the book.
—Chris Klimek, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025
One of the most unusual cases handled during his tenure was filed in April against 12 people accused of designing and running a decade-long scheme to fake out California’s smog check system for automobiles, Talbert said.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacramento Bee, 7 Jan. 2025
Marner faked out Swayman and tucked the winner behind the goalie.
—Fluto Shinzawa, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fake out
Fluto Shinzawa, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
This opening fake out is a direct lift from the book.
—Chris Klimek, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025
One of the most unusual cases handled during his tenure was filed in April against 12 people accused of designing and running a decade-long scheme to fake out California’s smog check system for automobiles, Talbert said.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacramento Bee, 7 Jan. 2025
Marner faked out Swayman and tucked the winner behind the goalie.
—Fluto Shinzawa, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fake out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fake out
Verb
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Phishing pages masquerade as banks, auction sites, and other sensitive sites, hoping to trick victims into logging in.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
11 June 2025
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Geragos asked Jane about presents that Diddy lavished upon her, for example, seemingly to suggest that his gift-giving indicated a romantic relationship, not a ruse to trick her into kink.—
Victoria Bekiempis,
Vulture,
11 June 2025
Verb
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If your privacy practices have been less than perfect in the past—and whose have not, given the vanishingly tiny odds of evading every form of digital data collection—additional information about you from over the years is likely available from hundreds of data brokers.—
Andy Greenberg,
Wired News,
16 June 2025
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Hundreds of Iranian missiles rained down across Israel beginning Saturday night, some of them evading the country's sophisticated defense systems.—
Rebecca Rosman,
NPR,
15 June 2025
Verb
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Reyes was a nice spring training story, but the Yankees were fooled by meaningless February and March stats.—
Chris Kirschner,
New York Times,
8 June 2025
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But don't be fooled, as these texts are sophisticated scams designed to steal your personal information or money.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
7 June 2025
Verb
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The two have been faking a romance for years, playing the press at their own game, but what happens when things start to get too real?—
Laura Wood,
People.com,
4 June 2025
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After his arrest, Duffy had faked amnesia and sought asylum in a psychiatric hospital, where doctors prevented the police from interrogating him, but the pretense of the amnesia was exposed at the trial by his ex-wife and a friend.—
Sarah Beckwith,
New Yorker,
26 May 2025
Verb
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Notably, 40 percent acknowledged faking activity to deceive monitoring systems, suggesting a struggle to maintain consistent performance outside traditional office settings.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 June 2025
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So there’s an interesting, dark comedy element to people that are deceiving themselves.—
Mark Hughes,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
Verb
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Critics have argued Putin is not interested in a lasting peace in Ukraine, with some Democrats suggesting the Trump administration is being strung along while Moscow makes gains on the battlefield.—
Brett Samuels,
The Hill,
31 Mar. 2025
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Richard’s Motel Studios — all strung along South Federal Highway just south of Young Circle.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Divorce can feel like an octopus whose tentacles are hard at work sucking in whatever prey is in its path.—
Lisa Zeiderman,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
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Two huge plants in Iceland operate like giant vacuum cleaners, sucking in air and stripping out planet-heating carbon pollution.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fake out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fake%20out. Accessed 20 Jun. 2025.
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