English Dictionary

HOAX

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

IPA (US): 

 Dictionary entry overview: What does hoax mean? 

HOAX (noun)
  The noun HOAX has 1 sense:

1. something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantageplay

  Familiarity information: HOAX used as a noun is very rare.


HOAX (verb)
  The verb HOAX has 1 sense:

1. subject to a playful hoax or jokeplay

  Familiarity information: HOAX used as a verb is very rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


HOAX (noun)


Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

dupery; fraud; fraudulence; hoax; humbug; put-on

Hypernyms ("hoax" is a kind of...):

chicane; chicanery; guile; shenanigan; trickery; wile (the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hoax"):

goldbrick (anything that is supposed to be valuable but turns out to be worthless)

Derivation:

hoax (subject to a playful hoax or joke)


HOAX (verb)

 Conjugation: 
Present simple: I / you / we / they hoax  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation ... he / she / it hoaxes  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past simple: hoaxed  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past participle: hoaxed  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
-ing form: hoaxing  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation


Sense 1

Meaning:

Subject to a playful hoax or joke

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

hoax; play a joke on; pull someone's leg

Hypernyms (to "hoax" is one way to...):

cozen; deceive; delude; lead on (be false to; be dishonest with)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

hoax (something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage)

hoaxer (someone who plays practical jokes on others)


 Context examples 


I stood for a few minutes with my heart in my boots, wondering whether the whole thing was an elaborate hoax or not, when up came a man and addressed me.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Well, I thought over the matter all day, and by evening I was in low spirits again; for I had quite persuaded myself that the whole affair must be some great hoax or fraud, though what its object might be I could not imagine.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Indeed, if I may make a full confession to you, I was quite convinced that the letter from Meiringen was a hoax, and I allowed you to depart on that errand under the persuasion that some development of this sort would follow.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"The pitcher goes so often to the well that it comes home broken at last." (English proverb)

"Help yourself to help God help you." (Bulgarian proverb)

"People are enemies of that which they don't know." (Arabic proverb)

"Let sleeping dogs lie." (Dutch proverb)



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