humbug

/ˈhəm-ˌbəg/

origin unknown

noun

  1. something designed to deceive and mislead

  2. a willfully false, deceptive, or insincere person

  3. an attitude or spirit of pretense and deception

Their claims are humbug.

He's just an old humbug.

imposture fraud sham fake humbug counterfeit mean a thing made to seem other than it is. imposture applies to any situation in which a spurious object or performance is passed off as genuine. fraud usually implies a deliberate perversion of the truth.

verb

  1. deceive, hoax

  2. to engage in a hoax or deception

humbugged by their doctors