Samantha ColeDrew HarwellElias Groll and Amy Mackinnon
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The old maxim "things aren’t always as they seem" seems more true than ever in the age of deepfakes. A deepfake is an image, or a video or audio recording, that has been edited using an algorithm to replace the person in the original with someone else (especially a public figure) in a way that makes it look authentic. The fake in deepfake is transparent: deepfakes are not real. The deep is less self-explanatory: this half of the term is specifically influenced by deep learning—that is, machine learning using artificial neural networks with multiple layers of algorithms.
Examples of deepfake in a Sentence
Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 16 July 2025
New Hampshire law even goes a step further to prohibit deepfakes of any kind that cause reputational harm, including deepfakes of political candidates.
—Angela Eichhorst, Hartford Courant, 15 July 2025
Groups such as performers guild SAG-AFTRA are pushing for more state and federal protections against deepfakes.
—Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2025
Voice changers, stand-ins, and deepfakes have all been used to slip through screenings.
—Michael Barnhart, Fortune, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for deepfake
Cite this Entry
“Deepfake.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deepfake. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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