1
as in forging
to imitate or copy especially in order to deceive
pranksters faked giant footprints and then claimed that they had seen Bigfoot
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in pretending
to present a false appearance of
while running for class president, Dan was not above faking friendship with people just to get their votes
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in concocting
to perform, make, or do without preparation
if you give me the gist of the plan, I can probably fake enough for the speech
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in evading
to elude (an opponent in a sports contest) by making a deceptive or agile movement
the running back faked the defense by stepping to his left and then quickly cutting to the right
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of faking
Wisconsin doesn't have a crime on the books for faking a death.
—
Drake Bentley, jsonline.com, 3 Feb. 2026
After faking a slap shot, Kucherov had sent a pass down to Guentzel.
—Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026
The leaders of the A3 network of mostly online charter schools were charged in 2019 with a scheme that prosecutors said relied on faking student enrollment and attendance to defraud the state of hundreds of millions of dollars.
—Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
The reality is that the AI is concocting elaborate personas, faking as though humans are writing about human woes.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Financial future faking is becoming a major factor in Gen Z and millennial divorces—and perhaps a reason why these younger generations marry less often or much later in life.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 11 Jan. 2026
The 27-year-old solo travel content creator, who has gone viral for traveling to destinations across the globe for just 24 hours, is pushing back against rumors that his content is staged after followers accused him of faking his trips.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were also recently accused of faking publicity to try to look better.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 13 Dec. 2025
Against the Blue Devils, the Huskies had three receivers lined up to the left with the inside slot receiver faking a bubble screen.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Dec. 2025
Drake Bentley, jsonline.com, 3 Feb. 2026
After faking a slap shot, Kucherov had sent a pass down to Guentzel.
—Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026
The leaders of the A3 network of mostly online charter schools were charged in 2019 with a scheme that prosecutors said relied on faking student enrollment and attendance to defraud the state of hundreds of millions of dollars.
—Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
The reality is that the AI is concocting elaborate personas, faking as though humans are writing about human woes.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Financial future faking is becoming a major factor in Gen Z and millennial divorces—and perhaps a reason why these younger generations marry less often or much later in life.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 11 Jan. 2026
The 27-year-old solo travel content creator, who has gone viral for traveling to destinations across the globe for just 24 hours, is pushing back against rumors that his content is staged after followers accused him of faking his trips.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were also recently accused of faking publicity to try to look better.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 13 Dec. 2025
Against the Blue Devils, the Huskies had three receivers lined up to the left with the inside slot receiver faking a bubble screen.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for faking
Verb
-
Together with Shaway Yeh, then group style editorial director of Modern Media, Lim transformed Modern Weekly, a regional lifestyle weekly founded by the Chinese entrepreneur Thomas Shao in 1993, into a Chinese media powerhouse known for forging creative ties with both global and Asian creatives.—
Denni Hu,
Footwear News,
11 Feb. 2026
-
But without a finished 10th novel to work from (Gabaldon is currently in progress on her final Outlander volume, called A Blessing for a Warrior Going Out), Roberts and team had to toe a fine line between honoring the essence of the book series and forging their own path forward.—
Amy Wilkinson,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Chris Kreider, winger, B+ Jacob Trouba, defenseman, B+ Both players were jettisoned by the New York Rangers, who sunk in the standings and have continued selling off after pretending as though their leadership group was the issue.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
7 Feb. 2026
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The new study provides the first evidence of an animal pretending in a situation researchers could control.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The reality is that the AI is concocting elaborate personas, faking as though humans are writing about human woes.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Both activities can be fairly ordinary hobbies—games of imagination not so different from crushing on a pop star or concocting stories about a film protagonist.—
Faith Hill,
The Atlantic,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
He was also charged with evading arrest the same day.—
Katey Psencik,
Austin American Statesman,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The teen was arrested on suspicion of crimes including assaulting a person with a semi-automatic firearm, brandishing a firearm, negligently discharging a firearm, evading a peace officer and driving under the influence of alcohol, the sheriff’s office said.—
Jason Green,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Murder, kidnapping and probably counterfeiting are all still against the rules in college football.—
Mac Engel
January 13,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 Jan. 2026
-
As such, more will be required than a World Cup ticket, particularly because physical tickets are vulnerable to counterfeiting, while electronic devices, which may ordinarily be a way to show authentic tickets, are usually forbidden in consular buildings where interviews take place.—
Adam Crafton,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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One of his chief responsibilities is preparing the scout-team offense, which is tasked every practice with simulating the next opponent in an 11-on-11 setting against the Pats’ starting defense.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
8 Feb. 2026
-
The hourslong rehearsal involved filling the rocket with more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellant and simulating each step of the launch countdown as would occur on the actual day.—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And commissioners spent all that time devising the College Sports Commission in an attempt to stabilize the NIL/portal market, then sit back and let one school in their conference steal yet another star QB half an hour before the portal closes.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The 40-year-old cooks up ways to make quarterbacks miserable in his sleep, devising schemes that are meant to lure as much as they are intended to confuse.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
After dodging Guantánamo, Stewart was instructed to report to an ICE detention center in Texas.—
Amy Maxmen,
Miami Herald,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Robertson, a designer by trade, launched the site last year after dodging a robot on a summer walk near Belden Avenue and Halsted Street in Lincoln Park with his wife and their two small children.—
Robert Channick,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Faking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faking. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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