# hoax vs hope

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### hoax
*verb · IPA /həʊks/ · frequency rank #14,339*
To deceive (someone) by making them believe something that has been maliciously or mischievously fabricated.

### hope
*verb · IPA /həʊp/ · frequency rank #346*
To want (something) to happen, with a sense of expectation that it might [with that (+ clause); or (informal) with clause; or with so or (negative) not].

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hoax-vs-hope