duped

Duped is the past participle and adjective form of the verb dupe, meaning deceived or tricked. It can also describe information, a situation, or a person that has been misled. As a noun, a dupe refers to a person who is easily fooled or manipulated.

The term derives from the French verb duper, meaning to fool or cheat. In English, the noun sense “a dupe” has been in use since the 18th century, with the past participle form “duped” appearing in common usage as deception or being tricked became a familiar idea.

In contemporary language, duped is commonly used in discussions of scams, misinformation, and consumer fraud. Examples include sentences such as “The investors were duped by a Ponzi scheme” or “Many online users were duped by misleading headlines.” The word often carries a sense of vulnerability to manipulation, distrust, and the need for verification or skepticism when evaluating claims.

In addition to its primary sense related to deception, dupe can have a more technical meaning in some contexts, referring to a duplicate or copy of an object, document, or media. In that sense, “duped” can imply that something has been replicated. However, this usage is less common in everyday language and is typically restricted to specific domains such as printing or archiving.