1To deceive, cheat, or swindle someone by hiding the truth or giving a false impression for one's own advantage.
うまいことを言って客をごまかすような商売はしたくない。
I don't want to run a business that deceives customers with smooth talk.
子供は宿題をやったふりをして親をごまかそうとした。
The child pretended to have done the homework, trying to fool his parents.
そんな手口でいつまでも人をごまかせると思うな。
Don't think you can keep fooling people with a trick like that forever.
2To falsify, doctor, or tamper with records, data, or figures; to misrepresent the facts.
実験データをごまかしたことが発覚し、論文は撤回された。
The paper was retracted after it came to light that the experimental data had been falsified.
売上の数字をごまかして、赤字を黒字に見せかけていた。
They had doctored the sales figures to make a loss look like a profit.
3To evade or dodge an awkward question, gloss over a mistake, or smooth over an uncomfortable topic; to explain it away. Very common in everyday speech, e.g. 笑ってごまかす (to laugh it off).
痛いところを突かれて、彼は笑ってごまかした。
Hit on a sore spot, he just laughed it off.
都合が悪くなると、いつも話をごまかすんだから。
Whenever things get inconvenient, you always change the subject to dodge it.
空腹をガムでごまかして、なんとか昼まで持たせた。
I staved off my hunger with gum and somehow made it to lunch.
4To embezzle or pocket money or goods; to skim or misappropriate funds on the sly.
経理担当者が長年、会社の金をごまかしていた。
The accounts clerk had been embezzling company money for years.
おつりを少しごまかしても、すぐにばれてしまうものだ。
Even if you skim a little off the change, you'll be found out soon enough.