hoax
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hoax
- /həʊks/ UK
- /hoʊks/ US
Sounds like hokes · Rhymes with -əʊks
Where it comes from
Reportedly a form of hocus. Possibly from hocus-pocus or Latin iocus (“joke”).
Compare hokey.
verb hoaxes · hoaxing · hoaxed
- To deceive (someone) by making them believe something that has been maliciously or mischievously fabricated.
noun hoaxes
-
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.
Similar: canard
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: put-on, dupery, fraudulence, fraud, deception, sham, trickery, deceit, trick, canard, scam, carve-up, stitch-up, treachery, delusion, prank
Translations
Every language
verb to deceive with a hoax
| 한국어 | 속임수를 쓰다 sogimsu-reul sseuda, 사기치다 sagichida |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ペテンに掛ける peten-ni kakeru |
| 中文 | 欺騙 /欺骗 qīpiàn, 作弄 zuònòng, 戲弄 /戏弄 xìnòng |
| Português | fraudar |
| Français | duper, berner |
| Deutsch | anführen, hereinlegen, einen Bären aufbinden, foppen |
| Italiano | frodare |
| Română | păcăli |
| Русский | разы́грывать razýgryvatʹ, разыгра́ть razygrátʹ, обманывать obmanyvatʹ, вводить в заблуждение vvoditʹ v zabluždenije |
| Tiếng Việt | lừa đảo, chơi khăm |
| עברית | מתח matákh |
noun anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick
| Español | engaño, embuste, bulo, filfa, borrego, paparrucha |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ペテン peten, 悪戯 itazura, でっち上げ detchiage |
| 中文 | 騙局 /骗局 piànjú, 惡作劇 /恶作剧 èzuòjù |
| Português | ludíbrio, fraude, embuste, embustice, logro |
| Français | canular, mystification, intox |
| Deutsch | Streich, Trick, Schabernack, Gag, Falschmeldung, Schwindel |
| Italiano | frode, inganno, bufala |
| Ελληνικά | φάρσα fársa |
| Română | cioară vopsită, fumigenă |
| Русский | ро́зыгрыш rózygryš, трюк trjuk, мистифика́ция mistifikácija, обма́н obmán |
Talk about this word "hoax." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hoax. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hoax. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hoax "hoax." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hoax.Cite this
@misc{hoax_2026,
title = {hoax},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hoax},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
