hoax
Deliberate false story
A hoax is a deliberate deception designed to make people believe something false—a fabricated story, staged event, or fake artifact presented as genuine.
Unlike simple lies, hoaxes often involve elaborate planning and public exposure: The photograph turned out to be a hoax.
To hoax someone is to deceive them with such a fabrication.
The word implies eventual revelation—hoaxes are meant to be uncovered, whether to embarrass the gullible or expose a point.
Trick meant to amuse
- gagMouth restraint or jest
- trickDeliberate deception
- stuntDangerous feat for spectacle
- put-onDeliberate deception or pretense
spoof · April Fools · candid camera · gotcha · setup · wind-up · leg-pull · mischief
Not the real thing
- forgeryCreating fraudulent imitations
- counterfeitFraudulent imitation
- falsificationDeliberate alteration of truth
- inventionNew device or method
fiction · lie · falsehood · untruth · misinformation · disinformation · canard · tall tale
Patterns in flattened grain
- BigfootLegendary North American ape-man
- Loch NessScottish lake, alleged monster
- War of the WorldsFictional extraterrestrial invasion narrative
- Nigerian princeEmail scam persona
Someone who plays tricks
- tricksterCunning deceiver in myth
- con artistProfessional fraud perpetrator
- charlatanFaker claiming false expertise
- impostorOne feigning another's identity
fraud · faker · deceiver · swindler · grifter · mountebank · quack · snake oil salesman
Expose as false
- exposeMake known publicly
- uncoverReveal what's hidden
- unmaskReveal true identity
- revealMake something visible
bust · discredit · refute · disprove · investigate · fact-check · whistleblower · Snopes
deceive
Cause false belief
fool · bamboozle · hoodwink · gull · con · swindle · scam · fraud · ruse · ploy
practical joke
Trick meant to amuse
put-on · spoof · April Fools · candid camera · gotcha · setup · wind-up · leg-pull · mischief · tomfoolery
fake
Not the real thing
- forgeryCreating fraudulent imitations
- counterfeitFraudulent imitation
- falsificationDeliberate alteration of truth
invention · fiction · lie · falsehood · untruth · misinformation · disinformation · canard · tall tale · fish story
crop circles
Patterns in flattened grain
- BigfootLegendary North American ape-man
- Loch NessScottish lake, alleged monster
- War of the WorldsFictional extraterrestrial invasion narrative
prankster
Someone who plays tricks
- tricksterCunning deceiver in myth
- con artistProfessional fraud perpetrator
- charlatanFaker claiming false expertise
impostor · fraud · faker · deceiver · swindler · grifter · mountebank · quack · snake oil salesman · scammer
debunk
Expose as false
reveal · bust · discredit · refute · disprove · investigate · fact-check · whistleblower · Snopes · skeptic
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- falsehoodslie, lies, lying, fib, fibbing
- falsifiedfalsified, doctored, fabricated, fake, faked
- Misconceptionsmisconception, myth, fallacy, false belief, mistaken belief
- art forgeryart forgery, art fraud, counterfeit art, fake paintings, master forger
- fraud termslying, cheating, scam, fake, con
hoaxtruth
Accordance with reality
reality · genuine article · the real thing · fact · authentic
- moon landing hoaxDenial of lunar missions
- viral hoaxWidely shared false claim
- literary hoax