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
Relevance
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fake out
The discography deep-dive portion of the set list kicked off with something of a fake out.
—
Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2024
Along the way, there’s illegitimate children, fake out deaths, and just about every soap opera cliché imaginable wrapped in gloriously stupid fun.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2024
The move pretty much faked out the forecasters and had the National Weather Service scrambling to draft a new cone of uncertainty.
—Andrew Lawrence, Popular Mechanics, 6 June 2023
Jaquez has impressive footwork and control with the ball to fake out defenders, and a majority of his scoring came from the midrange.
—Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, 22 June 2023
See all Example Sentences for fake out 
Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2024
Along the way, there’s illegitimate children, fake out deaths, and just about every soap opera cliché imaginable wrapped in gloriously stupid fun.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2024
The move pretty much faked out the forecasters and had the National Weather Service scrambling to draft a new cone of uncertainty.
—Andrew Lawrence, Popular Mechanics, 6 June 2023
Jaquez has impressive footwork and control with the ball to fake out defenders, and a majority of his scoring came from the midrange.
—Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, 22 June 2023
See all Example Sentences for fake out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fake out
Verb
-
In his memoir/self-help book Catching the Big Fish, Lynch called out directors who trick actors into a Method performance.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
27 Jan. 2025
-
Cybercriminals set up seemingly legitimate sites that tricked users into downloading malware disguised as harmless software updates.—
Chris Gallagher,
USA TODAY,
25 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Some Chinese steel goes through Mexico then into our country, in an effort to evade tariffs on the metal.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
3 Feb. 2025
-
Fox News took an exclusive late-night helicopter ride over the El Paso, Texas, sector, offering a glimpse into U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operations to capture migrants trying to evade, and the challenges agents face each night.—
Brooke Taylor,
Fox News,
31 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Don’t be fooled by its cheery name: Happy Face looks haunting.—
Claire Franken,
TVLine,
27 Jan. 2025
-
In other words, an attacker would need to fool all or nearly all nodes to remain hidden—which quickly becomes infeasible as more light nodes join.—
Ayush Gupta,
Forbes,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
In terms of top Netflix original films, that goes to Kinda Pregnant, the tragi-comedy centring on an awkward woman (Schumer) who fakes her own pregnancy to get attention before realising her lie might have landed her in hot water with her new boyfriend Will Forte.—
Kristan Hawkins,
Newsweek,
6 Feb. 2025
-
Down 22-21 early in the fourth quarter, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes snapped the ball from the Buffalo Bills’ 10-yard line, faked a handoff and rolled to his right.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned that the texts appear authentic, sometimes linking to legitimate websites to deceive consumers.—
Barbara A. Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Jan. 2025
-
Prosecutors said the counterfeit security seals used to deceive customs officials were also shipped to the U.S. from China.—
Tony Barboza,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Or will we just get strung along, like so many shows have done to us in the past?—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
26 Jan. 2025
-
To be sure, there are risks that Iran could use negotiations to string along the international community, seek to divide the United States and Europe with counterproposals, and deflect further sanctions.—
Dmitry Adamsky,
Foreign Affairs,
20 Feb. 2011
Verb
-
Excessive demand on the system — usually from residents running hoses and sprinklers while firefighters pull water from hydrants — causes water pressure to drop and contaminants to get sucked in like a vacuum.—
Aria Bendix,
NBC News,
14 Jan. 2025
-
On a recent day, a customer heated up a dose of white fentanyl powder, sucked in the smoke through a short straw, and stopped breathing almost instantly.—
Maurice Tamman,
USA TODAY,
22 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near fake out
Cite this Entry
“Fake out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fake%20out. Accessed 10 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share