Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An act intended to deceive or trick.
- n. Something that has been established or accepted by fraudulent means.
- v. To deceive or cheat by using a hoax.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A humorous or mischievous deception; a practical joke; usually, a marvelous or exciting fabrication or fiction gravely related as a test of credulity.
- n. One who misleads or deceives; a hoaxer; a humbug.
- To deceive by an amusing or mischievous fabrication or fiction; play upon the credulity of.
Wiktionary
- v. transitive To deceive (someone) by making them believe something which has been maliciously or mischievously fabricated.
- n. Anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A deception for mockery or mischief; a deceptive trick or story; a practical joke.
- v. To deceive by a story or a trick, for sport or mischief; to impose upon sportively.
WordNet 3.0
- n. something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage
- v. subject to a playful hoax or joke
Etymologies
- This definition is lacking an etymology or has an incomplete etymology. You can help Wiktionary by giving it a proper etymology. (Wiktionary)
- Perhaps alteration of hocus. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“– I agree that one about climate science being a hoax is my favorite.”
Think Progress » Hoekstra: I’d ‘Prefer’ To Tell Cheney To ‘Kind Of Back Off’ Obama
“This hoax is then used to justify the immediate purchase of 80 million doses of Tamiflu, a worthless drug that in no way shape or form treats the avian flu, but only decreases the amount of days one is sick and can actually contribute to the virus having more lethal mutations.”
“An alternative, if available, is often used instead of the word hoax.”
“Mr. Troyer said later that some of the search had been in response to what he called a hoax - a man called the police and falsely said he was the gunman.”
“The term hoax device shall mean any device that would cause a person reasonably to believe that such device is for endangering life or doing unusual damage to property, or both, by fire or explosion, whether or not contrived to ignite or explode automatically. ”
“The shamelessly self-promoting father of the "Balloon Boy" hoax is making another grab at the limelight.”
“What some are calling a hoax is reminiscent of 2009's Balloon Boy case.”
The Huffington Post: Turnstyle: Will Texas Psychic Meet Balloon Boy Fate?
“I believe the question was do you or do you not support the contention that a hoax is being executed on the peoples of the world.”
Think Progress » Bayh Claims ‘There’s A Fighting Chance’ Obama Will Call For A Spending Freeze
“We are left now with the realization that we cannot trust scientists and that it was a planned hoax from the word go.”
Report AGW federal funding fraud! Win valuable prizes! - Moe_Lane’s blog - RedState
“STOCKHOLM mdash; Canadian police are investigating whether a phoned-in hoax caused a Pakistani jet to be diverted to Stockholm for several hours Saturday for fear ...”
The Huffington Post: Pakistani Jet Evacuation: Plane Bomb Suspect Released In Sweden
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘hoax’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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JURI - crimes and offences
Don't commit any of these if you can
firearms trafficking, serious and organ..., trafficking in hu..., illegal shipment ..., cybercrime, money laundering, sale of counterfe..., sale of dangerous..., smuggling, infraction, corruption, organised crime and 153 more...
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This is not a list
you know that thing where the Eskimos have 50 words for snow?
little white lie, big lie, the Big Lie, economical with t..., muddy the waters, fabrication, deception, lies, damned lies..., façade, slander, omission, web of lies and 165 more...
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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Yazhinni Spelling bee
tongue, stallion, scruple, salinity, schedule, rouge, populist, Permian, perspire, pasteurize, multitude, mournful and 227 more...
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(1st_wk_150)-Dec_5_2012
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron, paradox, realm and 297 more...
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JURI - courtroom speak
Legal glossary with special focus on courtroom vocabulary
accused, acquittal, ADA, adjournment, adjudication, affidavit, affirmed, aggravated range, aggravating factors, allegation, alleged, answer and 794 more...
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ghost
This is Ghost List 2 ( the kind that go 'boo!' ) :P
( open list )
more:
http://www.wordnik.com/lists/macabrephantom, spectral, specter, spectre, spooky, poltergeist, haunt, spirit, banshee, cryptic, shadow, phantasm and 311 more...
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disinformation
words meaning bad or not real data
foo, gobbledygook, spin, blacklist, corrupt, fraudulent, debauched, nefarious, untrustworthy, spam, deranged, mental and 22 more...
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March 2012
panache, evanescent, erogenous, vestibule, malfeasance, lacuna, blithering, incubate, breech, tabernacle, pearly, upholstery and 79 more...
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Lying, cheating, and stealing
subterfuge, chicanery, skulduggery, pilfer, purloin, bamboozle, bilk, gyp, hoodwink, swindle, hoax, dupe and 28 more...
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ambilexicon
Heebie-jeebies
hands, houses, birds, boats, bathysphere, hammer, held, balance, boxes, hoax, breakfast, hear and 8 more...
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Culture Jamming
appropriate, subvertise, adbust, detournement, carnivalesque, remix, mashup, critical, protest, subvertisement, adbusting, disrupt and 47 more...
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Unfamiliar Words
dank, refrain, hostage, frigid, warden, atrocious, squirm, kinship, riot, counterfeit, stamped, scaffolding and 63 more...
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Copies of copies
replica, ersatz, synthetic, artificial, clone, simulacrum, reproduction, facsimile, carbon copy, twin, enantiomorph, antimer and 37 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for hoax.
oroboros Contraction of hocus-pocus. Nov 25, 2007