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🍬 A sweet candy 🤥 To cheat or lie 🤔 To avoid directly
to fudge

to fudge

11 7.5
To change numbers or facts dishonestly to hide the truth
  • verb
  • /fʌdʒ/
translation icon : falsear
  • None of us can imagine a future where publishers would knowingly fudge numbers.
  • fudge the numbers
  • fudge the truth
  • fudged the facts

They've hidden research and they they fudge the numbers in the past.

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Examples

  • Yeah, well, I kind of fudged my résumé a little bit to get that job.

    Me, Myself & Irene (2000)

  • We'll fudge the numbers a little.

    Pacific Heights (1990)

  • I figured out a way to fudge our asset charts.

    Unfinished Business (2015)

  • Our guy then fudges numbers in the right places.

    Confidence (2003)

  • Even if there wasn't, they could just fudge the numbers to make up some more.

    Blog text (9)

  • There are indications that the state is trying to fudge the rules in order to get more money.

    Blog text (29)

  • Eventually, however, the truth about the fudged books will come out.

    Blog text (21)

  • I sat in a mortgage broker's office as he implied ways that I could fudge my income.

    Blog text (19)

  • During the audit, it became clear that they had fudged the financial reports to hide losses.

  • To make the story more interesting, he fudged some of the events that actually took place.

Synonyms

to manipulate
vsto fudge
382 6.1

To control people or things in a clever, often dishonest way

is focused purely on changing information, without the control or influence aspect
to fake
vsto fudge
195 4.2

To make or change something to trick people

focuses on changing information broadly, not only creating forged objects
to cook
vsto fudge
  • Informal
138 8.6

To change numbers or records to hide the truth

is broader and can include less formal changes than record tampering
to distort
vsto fudge
97 4.6

To change facts so they become false or misleading

is focused on dishonest change of information generally, not only meaning shifts
to misrepresent
vsto fudge
71 6.9

Give a false story about someone or something to trick people

is similar but can include smaller or less direct changes to information
to fabricate
vsto fudge
50 7.3

To make up false information to trick people

is broader and includes any dishonest presentation, not only invented items
to falsify
vsto fudge
  • Formal
44 7.3

To make documents or facts not true to deceive people

is similar but can involve smaller, less absolute alterations of information
to warp
vsto fudge
30 7.4

To change facts or stories so they are not true

is the general practice of changing information, not only deep distortion
to gloss
vsto fudge
23 8.0

To make something sound better to hide problems

is the overall act of dishonest presentation rather than providing excuses
to mischaracterize
vsto fudge
  • US
10 8.0

To describe a person or thing unfairly

is broader, including deliberate altering of raw facts and figures
to garble
vsto fudge
8 8.0

To change a message so people cannot understand it

is the broader act of dishonest presentation rather than only unclear messages
to stretch the truth
vsto fudge
  • Informal
5 5.3

To make a story seem better than it really is

is broader, applying to any dishonest presentation, not only exaggeration
to misreport
vsto fudge
  • Literature
3 5.8

To give wrong information in a report, often by mistake

is not limited to reports and covers private dishonest presentation too
to bend the truth
vsto fudge
3 5.9

To say something that is not exactly what happened to make it look better

covers any dishonest change, not only mild or small distortions
to wangle
vsto fudge
  • UK
1 8.7

To get something by clever or dishonest ways

is specifically about altering or presenting information dishonestly, not general trickery
to twist around
vsto fudge
1 6.4

Change words or facts to make a person look bad

is the wider act of dishonest information change, not only deliberate twisting
to fudge the details
vsto fudge
  • Informal
7.7

Change facts on purpose to make something seem better

is a general action of changing information dishonestly, not only details
to flimflam
vsto fudge
  • Archaic
9.6

To trick someone by lying or cheating

is centered on altering information content rather than tricking people directly
to frigging
vsto fudge
  • Slang
9.1

To cheat by changing something to make the result look better

is the standard term for dishonest alteration without informal tone

Antonyms

to tell the truth
814 2.7

Say what really happened without hiding facts or lying

honesty
365 1.0

Being truthful and fair in what you say and do

Phrasal Verbs

to fudge one's way out
  • Informal
9.1

To avoid taking responsibility by lying or being vague

to fudge the details
  • Informal
7.7

Change facts on purpose to make something seem better

to fudge the issue
  • Informal
8.4

To avoid answering a question directly by being unclear

to fudge together
  • Informal
7.4

Make something quickly and carelessly using what you have

to pack fudge
8.8

Put fudge into boxes or wrap it in paper to make it ready to sell and give

Compounds

chocolate fudge
4 1.0

A soft, rich, sweet candy made from chocolate, sugar, and butter

fudge factor
  • Specialized
2 7.6

A small extra amount added to a calculation to allow for uncertainty

fudge packer
  • Slur
2 9.9

An offensive slang word people use to insult a gay man or someone who avoids hard choices

fudge sauce
1 1.0

A thick chocolate sauce served hot over desserts like ice cream

hot-fudge sauce
  • US
1 1.2

Thick hot chocolate that you pour over ice cream

divinity fudge
  • US
8.2

A light white fluffy candy made from whipped egg whites and sugar with nuts or vanilla

How Dishonest

to forge
  • NSFW
66 7.1
to fabricate
50 7.3
to fudge
11 7.5
to massage
12 7.7
to slant
14 6.3

Surface Forms

fudge infinitive
fudged past
fudged past participle
fudging present participle
fudges third person singular

Etymology

Fudge as a verb meaning to change facts or numbers dishonestly comes from the idea of 'making something up' or 'fixing' things roughly so they look better. That's why to fudge the figures is to change them to hide the true story.