humbug
1 of 2noun
hum·bug ˈhəm-ˌbəg 
1
a
: something designed to deceive and mislead
Their claims are humbug.
b
: a willfully false, deceptive, or insincere person
He's just an old humbug.
denounced as humbugs the playwrights who magnify the difficulties of their craft 
Times Literary Supplement
Times Literary Supplement2
: an attitude or spirit of pretense and deception
in all his humbug, in all his malice and hollowness Mary Lindsay
Mary Lindsay3
: nonsense, drivel
academic humbug
4
British : a hard usually peppermint-flavored candy
humbuggery
ˈhəm-ˌbə-g(ə-)rē
noun humbug
2 of 2verb
humbugged; humbugging
transitive verb
: deceive, hoax
humbugged by their doctors G. B. Shaw
G. B. Shawintransitive verb
: to engage in a hoax or deception
Synonyms
Noun
- counterfeit
- fake
- forgery
- hoax
- phony
- phoney
- sham
Verb
- bamboozle
- beguile
- bluff
- buffalo
- burn
- catch
- con
- cozen
- deceive
- delude
- dupe
- fake out
- fool
- gaff
- gammon
- gull
- have
- have on [chiefly British]
- hoax
- hoodwink
- hornswoggle
- juggle
- misguide
- misinform
- mislead
- snooker
- snow
- spoof
- string along
- suck in
- sucker
- take in
- trick
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun tests showed that the “old” map of America was a cleverly made humbug those UFO stories are a lot of humbug Verb humbugged into believing that the bones were the skeleton of a prehistoric human being
Recent Examples on the Web Nicole Winfield, Star Tribune, 17 Oct. 2020 Like many American holidays, it is now encrusted with humbug and commercialism. Dan Mclaughlin, National Review, 5 May 2020 As the story goes, he is visited by a trio of Christmas ghosts (whom Scrooge accuses of being humbugs). Elizabeth Wolfe And Douglas S. Wood, CNN, 21 Dec. 2019 Heroic detective, pilot, poet, magician and victor over all bullies and humbugs, animal or human, Freddy remains a model to us all. New York Times, 12 Mar. 2020 Merriam-Webster defines a humbug as something or someone that is false or deceptive. Elizabeth Wolfe And Douglas S. Wood, CNN, 21 Dec. 2019 Like every state, Colorado has its folklore, hoaxes, tall tales and humbugs. Tom Noel, The Know, 24 Aug. 2019 The commercial web steams on as a hopped-up, strung-out system of hyperlinks, engineered to mix Barnumesque humbug with authentic reports, and to overlap ads and news—the better to sucker the eye. Virginia Heffernan, WIRED, 23 May 2018 This was familiar big-corporation humbug, custom-built to obscure the real issues. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2019 Elizabeth Wolfe And Douglas S. Wood, CNN, 21 Dec. 2019 See More
Noun
His bah-humbug to Halloween was in keeping with that tough line. Nicole Winfield, Star Tribune, 17 Oct. 2020 Like many American holidays, it is now encrusted with humbug and commercialism. Dan Mclaughlin, National Review, 5 May 2020 As the story goes, he is visited by a trio of Christmas ghosts (whom Scrooge accuses of being humbugs). Elizabeth Wolfe And Douglas S. Wood, CNN, 21 Dec. 2019 Heroic detective, pilot, poet, magician and victor over all bullies and humbugs, animal or human, Freddy remains a model to us all. New York Times, 12 Mar. 2020 Merriam-Webster defines a humbug as something or someone that is false or deceptive. Elizabeth Wolfe And Douglas S. Wood, CNN, 21 Dec. 2019 Like every state, Colorado has its folklore, hoaxes, tall tales and humbugs. Tom Noel, The Know, 24 Aug. 2019 The commercial web steams on as a hopped-up, strung-out system of hyperlinks, engineered to mix Barnumesque humbug with authentic reports, and to overlap ads and news—the better to sucker the eye. Virginia Heffernan, WIRED, 23 May 2018 This was familiar big-corporation humbug, custom-built to obscure the real issues. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2019 Verb
In its verb form, to be humbugged is to be deceived or be the victim of a hoax. Elizabeth Wolfe And Douglas S. Wood, CNN, 21 Dec. 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
origin unknown
First Known Use
Noun
1750, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb
1749, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Kids Definition
humbug
noun
hum·bug ˈhəm-ˌbəg
1
: fraud sense 3
"… the Wonderful Wizard of Oz was nothing more than a humbug!" L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz
L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz2
: nonsense
humbug 1 of 2
noun
1
as in hoax
an imitation that is passed off as genuine tests showed that the "old" map of America was a cleverly made humbug Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- hoax
- counterfeit
- sham
- phony
- fake
- forgery
- copy
- phoney
- reproduction
- synthetic
- bastard
- replica
- swindle
- imposture
- spoof
- copycat
- fraud
- knockoff
- dummy
- shoddy
- simulation
- facsimile
- duffer
- gaff
- mock-up
- brummagem
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- original
2
as in nonsense
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense those UFO stories are a lot of humbug Synonyms & Similar Words
- nonsense
- nuts
- rubbish
- blah
- garbage
- silliness
- stupidity
- humbuggery
- drool
- bunkum
- jazz
- balderdash
- hokum
- bunk
- twaddle
- piffle
- claptrap
- foolishness
- hogwash
- trumpery
- poppycock
- muck
- baloney
- tosh
- flapdoodle
- craziness
- tommyrot
- guff
- malarkey
- blatherskite
- fudge
- folderol
- hooey
- insanity
- trash
- beans
- bosh
- madness
- blither
- fiddlesticks
- rot
- bilge
- bull
- crock
- falderal
- malarky
- punk
- fiddle
- codswallop
- crapola
- blarney
- absurdity
- buncombe
- blather
- blah-blah
- folly
- boloney
- drivel
- horsefeathers
- fiddle-faddle
- tarradiddle
- hoodoo
- applesauce
- flannel
- taradiddle
- moonshine
- hokeypokey
- idiocy
- senselessness
- nerts
- slush
- absurdness
- imbecility
- greek
- foolery
- tomfoolery
- inanity
- fatuity
- lunacy
- gas
- asininity
- rigmarole
- kookiness
- witlessness
- inaneness
- monkey business
- hocus-pocus
- hot air
- shenanigan(s)
- monkeyshine(s)
- rigamarole
- hoity-toity
- double-talk
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- rationality
- sensibleness
- reasonableness
- sense
- reasonability
- horse sense
- wisdom
- levelheadedness
- judgment
- judgement
- discernment
- common sense
3
as in fraud
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise one humbug after another claimed to be the miraculously surviving daughter of the Russian czar Synonyms & Similar Words
- fraud
- sham
- fake
- charlatan
- pretender
- quack
- mountebank
- misleader
- deceiver
- faker
- phony
- impostor
- phoney
- fakir
- imposter
- counterfeiter
- quacksalver
- hoaxer
- actor
- ringer
- operator
- dissembler
- sharper
- swindler
- trickster
- copycat
- poseur
- imitator
- skinner
- mimic
- duper
- impersonator
- bluffer
- dodger
- scammer
- feigner
- defrauder
- scamster
- fraudster
- cozener
- sharpy
- sharpie
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- virtuoso
- master
- wizard
- expert
- maestro
- professional
- whiz
- authority
- crackerjack
- ace
- adept
- past master
- crackajack
humbug
2 of 2verb
as in to fool
to cause to believe what is untrue humbugged into believing that the bones were the skeleton of a prehistoric human being Synonyms & Similar Words
- fool
- trick
- deceive
- hoax
- delude
- sucker
- mislead
- con
- gammon
- snow
- gull
- dupe
- kid
- tease
- bluff
- bamboozle
- hoodwink
- hornswoggle
- buffalo
- misinform
- suck in
- gaff
- cozen
- cheat
- beguile
- spoof
- snooker
- sting
- misguide
- juggle
- flimflam
- have on
- fake out
- have
- string along
- burn
- take in
- do a number on
- swindle
- catch
- lead one up the garden path
- lead one down the garden path
- pull one's leg
- pull the wool over one's eyes
- fleece
- put on
- defraud
- hustle
- mulct
- euchre
- diddle
- stick
- shortchange
- rook
- bleed
- chisel
- skin
- squeeze
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- undeceive
- debunk
- reveal
- unmask
- expose
- tell
- uncover
- disclose
- divulge
- show up
- disillusion
- disabuse
- uncloak
- unveil
- disenchant
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of humbug are counterfeit, fake, fraud, imposture, and sham. While all these words mean "a thing made to seem other than it is," humbug suggests elaborate pretense usually so flagrant as to be transparent.
creating publicity by foisting humbugs on a gullible public
Although the words counterfeit and humbug have much in common, counterfeit applies especially to the close imitation of something valuable.
20-dollar bills that were counterfeits
The synonyms fake and humbug are sometimes interchangeable, but fake implies an imitation of or substitution for the genuine but does not necessarily imply dishonesty.
these jewels are fakes; the real ones are in the vault
The words fraud and humbug are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, fraud usually implies a deliberate perversion of the truth.
the diary was exposed as a fraud
The words imposture and humbug can be used in similar contexts, but imposture applies to any situation in which a spurious object or performance is passed off as genuine.
their claim of environmental concern is an imposture
While in some cases nearly identical to humbug, sham applies to fraudulent imitation of a real thing or action.
condemned the election as a sham