The meaning of Humbug

verb

Cheat or fool.

Usage examples:

He bamboozled canada's largest banks in a massive counterfeit scam

verb

To trick or deceive someone, often by confusing them

Usage examples:

She was bamboozled into telling them her credit card number.

verb

To trick or deceive someone, often by confusing them

Usage examples:

Don't get bamboozled by all the jargon., she was bamboozled into telling them her credit card number.

verb

Charm or enchant (someone), often in a deceptive way.

Usage examples:

He beguiled the voters with his good looks

verb

To charm, attract, or interest, sometimes in order to deceive

Usage examples:

I had to show i was not beguiled by his good looks., a beguiling smile

noun

Stupid or untrue talk or writing; nonsense.

verb

Talk nonsense to (someone) in an attempt to deceive them.

exclamation

A rude word for complete nonsense or something that is not true

Usage examples:

Bullshit! he never said that!, us he gave me some excuse but it was a bunch of bullshit., uk he gav…

noun

Hypocritical and sanctimonious talk, typically of a moral, religious, or political nature.

Usage examples:

He had no time for the cant of the priests about sin

verb

Talk hypocritically and sanctimoniously about something.

Usage examples:

If they'd stop canting about ‘honest work’ they might get somewhere

noun

A slope or tilt.

Usage examples:

The outward cant of the curving walls

verb

Act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage.

Usage examples:

She always cheats at cards

noun

A person who behaves dishonestly in order to gain an advantage.

Usage examples:

Athletes who abide by the rules are up against cheats with a distinct advantage.

verb

To act in a way that is dishonest, or to make someone believe something that is not true in order to get something for yourself

Usage examples:

[ t ] the insurance companies were found to be cheating consumers., [ t ] they got cheated out of t…

verb

Persuade (someone) to do or believe something by lying to them.

Usage examples:

I conned him into giving me your home number

noun

An instance of deceiving or tricking someone.

Usage examples:

The charter is a glossy public relations con

noun

A disadvantage of or argument against something.

Usage examples:

Borrowers have to weigh up the pros and cons of each mortgage offer

verb

Trick or deceive.

Usage examples:

Do not think to cozen your contemporaries

noun

The action or practice of deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the truth.

Usage examples:

A web of deceit

noun

Speech or behavior that keeps the truth hidden

Usage examples:

All we hear from them are lies and deceit., she just assumes that elected leaders are cynical and d…

noun

Dishonest or illegal methods used by a person or organization in order to get something or to make people believe that something is true when it is not

Usage examples:

The company filed a legal claim alleging deceit and breach of contract.

verb

Deliberately cause (someone) to believe something that is not true, especially for personal gain.

Usage examples:

I didn't intend to deceive people into thinking it was french champagne

verb

To persuade someone that something false is the truth; trick or fool

Usage examples:

Some parents try to deceive school officials and enroll their children in other districts., we shou…

verb

To use dishonest or illegal methods to get something or to make people believe that something is true when it is not

Usage examples:

These were fraudulent transactions aimed at deceiving creditors and investors., intention/intent to…

noun

The action of deceiving someone.

Usage examples:

Obtaining property by deception

noun

The quality of making you believe something that is not true

Usage examples:

We will not accept dishonesty and deceptiveness from politicians., the film is concerned with the d…

verb

Make (someone) believe something that is not true.

Usage examples:

Too many theorists have deluded the public

verb

To fool yourself into believing something is true because you want it to be true, when it is actually not true

Usage examples:

He’s deluding himself if he thinks he’s going to get that promotion.

noun

Deceitfulness shown in someone's character or behaviour.

Usage examples:

The dismissal of thirty civil servants for dishonesty and misconduct

noun

The quality or an act of not being honest

Usage examples:

Her dishonesty landed her in prison., mistakes and misunderstandings are a far more common cause of…

verb

Deceive; trick.

Usage examples:

The newspaper was duped into publishing an untrue story

noun

A victim of deception.

Usage examples:

Men who were simply the dupes of their unscrupulous leaders

verb

Make a duplicate or copy of.

Usage examples:

How to dupe 35 mm slides on to 35 mm film

adjective

(of things) not real, but made to look real, or (of information) not true but made to seem true in order to deceive

Usage examples:

Haban used false identification to enter france., the company presented clients with documents cont…

adjective

Not true or correct

Usage examples:

It is an offense to give false information on your application form., the wanted man is known to be…

noun

The fact of being untrue, incorrect, or insincere.

Usage examples:

He exposed the falsity of the claim

noun

The state of not being correct

Usage examples:

Events have shown the falsity of such beliefs., society, he claims, is built on falsity and pretence.

noun

A person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person.

Usage examples:

I felt a bit of a fool

verb

Trick or deceive (someone); dupe.

Usage examples:

He fooled nightclub managers into believing he was a successful businessman

adjective

Foolish; silly.

Usage examples:

That damn fool waiter

noun

Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.

Usage examples:

He was convicted of fraud

noun

The crime of obtaining money or property by deceiving people

Usage examples:

Convicted of tax fraud, he was sentenced to two years in prison., he says he’s been everywhere and …

noun

The crime of getting money by tricking or deceiving people, or a crime of this type

Usage examples:

Serious/massive fraud we only investigate when there are sufficient grounds for believing serious f…

noun

A long-winged web-footed seabird with a raucous call, typically having white plumage with a grey or black mantle.

Usage examples:

I could go on and on about the many herons, egrets, gulls, terns, and various and sundry other spec…

verb

Fool or deceive (someone).

Usage examples:

He had been gulled into believing that the documents were authentic

noun

A person who is fooled or deceived.

Usage examples:

The title of this piece might seem to be no more than a comment on the ease with which the flats, m…

noun

A humorous or malicious deception.

Usage examples:

The evidence had been planted as part of an elaborate hoax

verb

Trick or deceive (someone).

Usage examples:

I now have reason to believe that in unraveling a hoax i was hoaxed myself.

verb

Deceive or trick.

Usage examples:

Staff were hoodwinked into thinking the cucumber was a sawn-off shotgun

verb

To deceive or trick someone

Usage examples:

We were hoodwinked into believing that we had won a lot of money.

noun

The practice of claiming to have higher standards or more noble beliefs than is the case.

Usage examples:

His target was the hypocrisy of suburban life

noun

Pretending to be what you are not, or pretending to believe something that you do not

Usage examples:

Critics are accusing him of hypocrisy and deceit., the biggest hypocrites in sports are owners who …

noun

An instance of pretending to be someone else in order to deceive others.

Usage examples:

I discovered the imposture as soon as her doppelgänger arrived

noun

The act of pretending to be someone else in order to deceive others

noun

The quality of not expressing genuine feelings.

Usage examples:

He had no patience for anything that smacked of insincerity or hypocrisy

noun

The action or practice of pretending to feel something that you do not really feel, or not meaning what you say

Usage examples:

There’s often a bit of insincerity in these speeches., jane detected the insincerity in his voice.

noun

A child or young person.

Usage examples:

She collected the kids from school

verb

(of a goat) give birth.

Usage examples:

Milk fever usually occurs in heavy milkers shortly after kidding

verb

Deceive (someone) in a playful way; tease.

Usage examples:

You're kidding me!

verb

Cause (someone) to have a wrong idea or impression.

Usage examples:

Fans believed they were misled about the reasons for the cancellation

verb

To cause someone to believe something that is not true

Usage examples:

We’re not misleading people, and we’re not pretending to be something we’re not.

verb

To cause someone to believe something that is not true

Usage examples:

The government has repeatedly misled the public, and we're here to protest., mislead sb about sth t…

noun

Behaviour that is intended to impress or mislead.

Usage examples:

A masking of fear with macho posturing

verb

Behave in a way that is intended to impress or mislead.

Usage examples:

A billionaire posturing as a hero of the working class

noun

Behaviour or speech that is intended to attract attention and interest, or to make people believe something that is not true

Usage examples:

His writing has been dismissed as mere intellectual posturing.

noun

An attempt to make something that is not the case appear true.

Usage examples:

His anger is masked by a pretence that all is well

noun

A way of behaving that is intended to deceive people

Usage examples:

She made absolutely no pretence of being interested., they kept up (= continued) a pretence of norm…

noun

A quality of acting as if you are morally better than others

Usage examples:

I found his sanctimoniousness quite irritating., a sense of smug sanctimoniousness

noun

A thing that is not what it is purported to be.

Usage examples:

Our current free health service is a sham

adjective

Bogus; false.

Usage examples:

A clergyman who arranged a sham marriage

verb

Short for pillow sham.

phrasal verb

Provide with shelter

verb

To move something or someone from one place to another

Usage examples:

Please, take me with you!, it may rain, so take your umbrella., the suitcases were taken to madrid …

verb

To subtract one number or amount from another

Usage examples:

Take sth from sth you'll need to take $2,000 from the $8,000 to allow for tax., take sth/sb off (st…

noun

A cunning act or scheme intended to deceive or outwit someone.

Usage examples:

He's a double-dealer capable of any mean trick

verb

Cunningly deceive or outwit.

Usage examples:

Many people have been tricked by villains with false identity cards

adjective

Intended or used to deceive or mystify, or to create an illusion.

Usage examples:

A trick question