hoax
noun
- deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as the truth
verb
- deceive, cause to believe a fabrication
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /həʊks/ / /hoʊks/
noun
Etymology: Reportedly a form of hocus. Possibly from hocus-pocus or Latin iocus (“joke”). Compare hokey.
- 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.”
“The news story about the pop singer coming to town, unfortunately for his fans, turned out to be a hoax.”
verb
Etymology: Reportedly a form of hocus. Possibly from hocus-pocus or Latin iocus (“joke”). Compare hokey.
- To deceive (someone) by making them believe something that has been maliciously or mischievously fabricated.