I. dupe 1 /djuːp $ duːp/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: French ; Origin: perhaps from Old French huppe type of bird considered stupid ]
someone who is tricked, especially into becoming involved in something illegal
II. dupe 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive usually passive]
to trick or deceive someone
dupe somebody into doing something
Consumers are being duped into buying faulty electronic goods.
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THESAURUS
▪ deceive especially written to make someone who trusts you believe something that is not true:
This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public.
▪ trick to make someone believe something that is not true, in order to get something from them or make them do something:
A man posing as an insurance agent had tricked her out of thousands of dollars.
▪ fool to make someone believe something that is not true by using a clever but simple trick:
His hairpiece doesn’t fool anyone.
▪ mislead to make people believe something that is not true, by deliberately not giving them all the facts, or by saying something that is only partly true:
The company was accused of misleading customers about the nutritional value of the product.
▪ dupe informal to trick or deceive someone, especially so that they become involved in someone else’s dishonest activity without realizing it:
The spies duped government and military officials alike.
▪ con informal to trick someone, especially by telling them something that is not true:
I’m pretty good at judging people; I didn’t think he was trying to con me.