hoax

H4O1A1X8
UK/həʊks/US/hoʊks/

verb

To deceive (someone) by making them believe something that has been maliciously or mischievously fabricated.

“The phone call to the police about a tiger in a tree turned out to be a hoax.”

Similar
canardfraudfraudulenceduperyhumbugput-onpull someone's legplay a joke on
OriginLatin iocus →
Less commonScrabble 14
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Meanings

verbhoax (third-person singular simple present hoaxes, present participle hoaxing, simple past and past participle hoaxed)

present singular third person hoaxes · participle present hoaxing · participle past hoaxed · past hoaxed

  1. transitiveTo deceive (someone) by making them believe something that has been maliciously or mischievously fabricated.
nounhoax (plural hoaxes)

plural hoaxes

  1. Anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick.

    The phone call to the police about a tiger in a tree turned out to be a hoax.

    1 more example

    The news story about the pop singer coming to town, unfortunately for his fans, turned out to be a hoax.

    Synonyms: canard

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAnything deliberately intended to deceive or trick.

Similar
canard

More synonyms by meaning

nounsomething intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage

Similar
fraudfraudulenceduperyhumbugput-on
Broader
trickerychicanerychicane

verbsubject to a playful hoax or joke

Similar
pull someone's legplay a joke on
Broader
deceivelead ondelude
Also see
bullcanardclankercramduperyfibfraudfraudulencehumbuglienonsensepull someone's legput-onstoryterminological inexactitude

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latiniocus“joke”
  2. Englishhoax

Reportedly a form of hocus. Possibly from hocus-pocus or Latin iocus (“joke”). Compare hokey.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian измамвам, измама
  • измамвам (izmamvam)to deceive with a hoax
  • измама (izmama)anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • номер (nomer)anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • шега (šega)anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Catalan engany
  • enganyanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Chinese Mandarin 欺騙 /欺骗, 作弄
  • 欺騙 /欺骗 (qīpiàn)to deceive with a hoax
  • 作弄 (zuònòng)to deceive with a hoax
  • 戲弄 /戏弄 (xìnòng)to deceive with a hoax
  • 騙局 /骗局 (piànjú)anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • 惡作劇 /恶作剧 (èzuòjù)anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Czech podvést, napálit
  • podvéstto deceive with a hoax
  • napálitto deceive with a hoax
  • podvodanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • mystifikaceanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • žertanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • kachnaanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • habaďůraanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • falešná zprávaanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Esperanto blago, mistifiko
  • blagoanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • mistifikoanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Finnish huijata, huijaus
  • huijatato deceive with a hoax
  • huijausanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
French duper, berner
  • duperto deceive with a hoax
  • bernerto deceive with a hoax
  • canularanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • mystificationanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • intoxanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
German anführen, hereinlegen
  • anführento deceive with a hoax
  • hereinlegento deceive with a hoax
  • einen Bären aufbindento deceive with a hoax
  • foppento deceive with a hoax
  • Streichanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • Trickanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • Schabernackanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • Gaganything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • Falschmeldunganything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • Schwindelanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • Ulkanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • Enteanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Greek φάρσα
  • φάρσα (fársa)anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Hebrew מתח
  • מתח (matákh)to deceive with a hoax
Hungarian álhíresztel, átverés
  • álhíresztelto deceive with a hoax
  • átverésanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • beugratásanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • kacsaanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • tréfaanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Indonesian hoaks
  • hoaksanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Irish dallamullóg
  • dallamullóganything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Italian frodare, frode
  • frodareto deceive with a hoax
  • frodeanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • ingannoanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • bufalaanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Japanese ペテンに掛ける, ペテン
  • ペテンに掛ける (peten-ni kakeru)to deceive with a hoax
  • ペテン (peten)anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • 悪戯 (itazura)anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • でっち上げ (detchiage)anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Korean 속임수를 쓰다, 사기치다
  • 속임수를 쓰다 (sogimsu-reul sseuda)to deceive with a hoax
  • 사기치다 (sagichida)to deceive with a hoax
Lithuanian melagiena
  • melagienato deceive with a hoax
Malay olokan, olok-olok
  • olokananything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • olok-olokanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Māori māminga, tinihanga
  • māmingato deceive with a hoax
  • tinihangato deceive with a hoax
  • māmingaanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • tinihangaanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Norwegian puss, bedrag
  • pussanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • bedraganything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Polish przekręcać, przekręcić
  • przekręcaćto deceive with a hoax
  • przekręcićto deceive with a hoax
  • oszukiwaćto deceive with a hoax
  • oszukaćto deceive with a hoax
  • mistyfikacjaanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • szalbierstwoanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Portuguese fraudar, ludíbrio
  • fraudarto deceive with a hoax
  • ludíbrioanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • fraudeanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • embusteanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • embusticeanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • logroanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Romanian păcăli, cioară vopsită
  • păcălito deceive with a hoax
  • cioară vopsităanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • fumigenăanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Russian разы́грывать, разыгра́ть
  • разы́грывать (razýgryvatʹ)to deceive with a hoax
  • разыгра́ть (razygrátʹ)to deceive with a hoax
  • обманывать (obmanyvatʹ)to deceive with a hoax
  • вводить в заблуждение (vvoditʹ v zabluždenije)to deceive with a hoax
  • ро́зыгрыш (rózygryš)anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • трюк (trjuk)anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • мистифика́ция (mistifikácija)anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • обма́н (obmán)anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Spanish engaño, embuste
  • engañoanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • embusteanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • buloanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • filfaanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • borregoanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • paparruchaanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • paparruchadaanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • trolaanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
  • infundioanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Swedish lura, bedra
  • lurato deceive with a hoax
  • bedrato deceive with a hoax
  • bluffanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Tagalog talimangmang
  • talimangmanganything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
Vietnamese lừa đảo, chơi khăm
  • lừa đảoto deceive with a hoax
  • chơi khămto deceive with a hoax
Welsh cast
  • castanything deliberately intended to deceive or trick

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with hoax

jokesfolksstokescoaxfolx
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

hokeshokes
Cite this entry
APA

hoax. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hoax

MLA

“hoax.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hoax. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hoax,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hoax.

Source: hoax on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.