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Falsehood vs Hoax - What's the difference?

falsehood | hoax |

As nouns the difference between falsehood and hoax

is that falsehood is (uncountable) the property of being false while hoax is anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick.

As a verb hoax is

to deceive (someone) by making them believe something which has been maliciously or mischievously fabricated (scam).

falsehood

English

Noun

  • (uncountable) The property of being false.
  • * 1976 , Willard Van Orman Quine, The Ways of Paradox, and other essays , page 89:
    • Every such idiom is what is known as a truth function, and is characterized by the fact that the truth or falsehood' of the complex statement which it generates is uniquely determined by the truth or ' falsehood of the several statements which it combines.
  • (countable) A false statement, especially an intentional one; a lie
    • Don't tell falsehoods .
  • (archaic, rare) Mendacity, deceitfulness; the trait of a person who is mendacious and deceitful.
  • * 1817 , Robert Stevenson, Scripture Portraits , volume 1, page 155:
    • THE LEPROSY OF NAAMAN INFLICTED ON GEHAZI, FOR HIS FALSEHOOD AND COVETOUSNESS.
  • * 1963 , M. Arthur Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion: its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors , page 7:
    • O mortal, eschew falsehood' and flattery. Death flayeth and killeth the false one: The apostate suffereth for his ' falsehood and pride; he is tormented in both worlds. Renounce slander and envy of others.
  • * 1984 , Witness Lee, Life-Study: Revelation: Volume Three: Messages 34-50 , Living Stream Ministry (1999), ISBN 978-0-7363-0659-1, page 511:
    • The false prophet looks like a lamb, but speaks like a dragon. This indicates his falsehood . He will pretend to be the same as Christ.
  • *

    • Quotations

    * Syn. Falsehood'', ''Falseness'', ''Falsity''; untruth, fabrication, fiction. Instances may be quoted in abundance from old authors to show that the first three words are often strictly synonymous; but the modern tendency has been decidedly in favor of separating them, ''falsehood'' standing for the concrete thing, an intentional lie; ''falseness'', for the quality of being guiltily false or treacherous: as, he is justly despised for his ''falseness'' to his oath; and ''falsity'', for the quality of being false without blame: as, the ''falsity'' of reasoning. — the ''Century Dictionary , 1911. * Micah 2:11 (KJV): *: If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people. * 1909 , John Potts, Secret Lodge System : *: The lodge upheld, sustained and honored this man in his double life, his deceit, his falsehood , his hypocrisy.

    Synonyms

    * (property of being false) falsity * (false statement) lie * (deceitfulness) falseness, mendacity * See also

    Antonyms

    * (false statement) truth, verity

    hoax

    English

    Verb

    (es)
  • To deceive (someone) by making them believe something which has been maliciously or mischievously fabricated. (scam)

    • Derived terms

    * hoaxer * hoaxster (rare)

    Noun

    (es)
  • Anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick.

    • Synonyms

    * (deliberately false story or report) canard

    Derived terms

    * (deliberately false story or report) hoaxical, Hoaxocaust