verb / noun

dupe

DOOP/duːp/

Fooling someone through deception.

The operator dupes the player, secretly holding the ball behind her back.

A dishonest shell-game operator lures a player into betting on a cup while secretly holding the ball behind her back.

Etymology

French dupe named a person easily deceived. The English verb turns that label into an action: to make a dupe of someone by exploiting that person’s credulity.

In context

Real Crime23:41

over 25 years he has made a career of adopting aliases to dupe the public

"Dr." Paul Bint: The Fake Physician | Conmen Case Files | Real Crime

More examples

The fake charity duped her into donating money.
He feels like a dupe for believing their lies.
They are duping customers with false claims about the treatment.

Forms

dupe · dupes · duped · duping

Similar words

deceive: Broader than dupe; includes simply creating a false impression.
trick: Can describe playful pranks as well as harmful deception.
gull: As a noun, emphasizes someone easily fooled, not necessarily already deceived.