something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage
Verb:
subject to a playful hoax or joke
例句
用作动词 (v.)
All hoax viruses are essentially chain letters. 所有的欺骗性病毒基本都是连续性的字母。
Some posters on Chinese bulletin boards and blogs have argued that Mr Zhou was perhaps merely a hapless tool in a hoax perpetrated mainly by bureaucrats. 一些中文的贴子和博客提出，周也许不过是官方欺骗闹剧中的一个不幸的工具而已。
Mainstream critics argue that the entire affair is a hoax. 主流的批评家批评整件事是一场愚弄。
Authorities call the apparent hoax reprehensible, but even with just five feet. 官方称这是明显的愚弄行为，应该遭受斥责，但是仍然还有五只断脚。
用作名词 (n.)
They considered the phone call a hoax. 他们认为那个电话是恶作剧。
I never thought my hoax would go so far and I felt awful when some of you got so excited about knowing the title. 我从来没有想到我的恶作剧会这么不可收拾，你们为得知新书名而欣喜不已时我真觉得糟糕透了。
经典引文
There was also a hoax involving a tailor's dummy dressed as a Russian officer.
出自：Sunday Express
There had been a hoax call about a bomb at some large public building.
美
[hoʊks]
