canard
10
9.9
- noun
- /kəˈnɑrd/
- Literature
- The claim that he cheated on the test was nothing more than a canard designed to damage his reputation.
- repeat the canard
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Watch on YouTubeIt's why Arafat eventually refused Ehud Barack's offer, and it is a canard.
- It's why Arafat eventually refused Ehud Barack's offer, and it is a canard.
Examples
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To this day, one discovers people convinced of the truth of the old Victorian canard that masturbation leads to feeblemindedness.
Fiction book (2001) -
And let's explode this canard that Palestinians don't have "the right to self-determination."
Blog text (6) -
The diagnosis was a canard.
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Show me the dodge, or retire the canard, if you please.
Blog text (8) -
The old canard has it right, and you can't tell one from another.
Fiction book (2001) -
The mother-son baseball thing seems like yet another talking point: a canard, if you will.
Blog text (5) -
Whether they believe such a canard or not, they nevertheless use it for politicking purposes.
Academic text (2002) -
They would have you believe I couldn't hold my liquor, which anyone who knows me knows is a baseless canard.
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The prevailing theory that strongmen such as Musharraf make for better counterterrorism partners is a canard.
Academic text (2007) -
Megan instantly responds with anecdotes and canards about the British NHS.
Blog text (1)
Synonyms
∞
2.7
A false statement told to trick someone
165
3.9
An action that makes someone believe something not true
135
4.1
A trick that makes people believe something false
43
5.8
A report or statement that gives a false picture of the truth
31
6.5
A false story made to trick people
27
7.5
A statement that gives false information about something
12
7.1
An action or statement that hides the real reason behind something
9
5.0
Stories that are completely untrue and told to trick people
3
9.6
Talk that tries to trick people with false statements
Antonyms
How False
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word canard comes from the French canard, which means 'duck', and newspapers began using it for a made-up or silly story. So a canard is a false or misleading report meant to trick people.