Meaning & use
hoaxes
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“hoaxes” is a form of “hoax”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Deliberate tricks that make people believe something false, often spread to amuse or deceive the public.
Grammar: This is the plural of 'hoax'; use 'a hoax' for one trick and 'hoaxes' for two or more.
Patterns
- a series of hoaxes
- spread hoaxes
- believe a hoax
The newspaper apologized for printing several hoaxes as real news.
Online hoaxes about miracle cures spread quickly on social media.
Police warned that bomb hoaxes waste time and can lead to charges.
verbtransitive
Tricks someone into believing something false, usually as a joke or to gain an advantage.
Grammar: Takes an object: someone hoaxes a person or a group.
Patterns
- hoax someone
- be hoaxed into doing something
The caller hoaxed the radio station with a fake interview.
Students hoaxed their teacher with a pretend fire alarm.
Word forms
| base form | hoax |
|---|---|
| third person singular | hoaxes |
| past tense | hoaxed |
| past participle | hoaxed |
| -ing form | hoaxing |
Common combinations
- a bomb hoax
- The school was evacuated after a bomb hoax.
- a hoax call
- She received a hoax call claiming she had won a prize.
- perpetrate a hoax
- The group perpetrated a hoax that fooled millions.
- expose a hoax
- Journalists worked for weeks to expose the hoax.
- an elaborate hoax
- It turned out to be an elaborate hoax involving fake documents.
Synonyms and how they differ
- prank
- A prank is usually a harmless practical joke, while a hoax often involves a more serious deception.
- trick
- A trick can be playful or cruel; a hoax usually aims to make many people believe something untrue.
- scam
- A scam is a deception for money, whereas a hoax may have no financial motive.
- fraud
- Fraud is a legal term for deception for gain, and is stronger and more formal than hoax.
Opposites
Word family
- hoaxer noun
- A person who creates hoaxes.
- hoax noun
- A single deceptive trick.
Commonly confused: hoaxes or hocus? hoaxes or hoax?
hoaxes vs hocus
'Hocus' is not a common English word; learners sometimes confuse it with 'hoax' because of the similar sound.
hoaxes vs hoax
'Hoax' is the singular; 'hoaxes' is the plural or third-person verb form.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'hoaxes' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Hoaxes' is the plural noun here, so it fits after 'several' and before a plural verb. 'Hoax' would be needed after 'a', and the verb forms in the other options do not match the tense or subject.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hoaxes”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.