I. pho ‧ ney BrE AmE ( also phony American English ) /ˈfəʊni $ ˈfoʊ-/ adjective informal
1 . false or not real, and intended to deceive someone SYN fake :
a phoney American accent
2 . someone who is phoney is insincere and pretends to be something they are not
—phoney noun [countable] :
He’s a complete phoney!
—phoniness noun [uncountable]
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ false not real, but intended to seem real and deceive people:
He uses a false name.
▪ fake made to look or seem like something else, especially something worth a lot more money:
fake fur
|
a fake Rolex watch
|
fake designer goods
|
a fake $100 bill
▪ forged a forged official document or bank note has been illegally made to look like a real one:
a forged passport
|
a forged £50 note
▪ counterfeit /ˈkaʊntəfɪt $ -tər-/ counterfeit money or goods have been illegally made to look exactly like something else:
How do you detect counterfeit currency?
|
counterfeit drugs
▪ imitation made to look real – used especially about guns, bombs etc or about materials:
The two men used an imitation firearm to carry out the robbery.
|
imitation leather/silk/silver
▪ phoney/phony /ˈfəʊni $ ˈfoʊ-/ disapproving informal false – used when you think someone is deliberately trying to deceive people:
She put on a phoney New York accent.
|
The doctors were accused of supplying phoney medical certificates.
|
There’s something phoney about him.
|
phony advertisements
▪ spurious /ˈspjʊəriəs $ ˈspjʊr-/ false and giving a wrong impression about someone or something:
spurious claims
|
That’s a spurious argument.
|
The company was trying to get some spurious respectability by using our name.
II. pho ‧ ny /ˈfəʊni $ ˈfoʊ-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: Perhaps from fawney 'brass ring used for deceiving people' (18-19 centuries) , from Irish Gaelic fáinne 'ring' ]
the usual American spelling of ↑ phoney
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ false not real, but intended to seem real and deceive people:
He uses a false name.
▪ fake made to look or seem like something else, especially something worth a lot more money:
fake fur
|
a fake Rolex watch
|
fake designer goods
|
a fake $100 bill
▪ forged a forged official document or bank note has been illegally made to look like a real one:
a forged passport
|
a forged £50 note
▪ counterfeit /ˈkaʊntəfɪt $ -tər-/ counterfeit money or goods have been illegally made to look exactly like something else:
How do you detect counterfeit currency?
|
counterfeit drugs
▪ imitation made to look real – used especially about guns, bombs etc or about materials:
The two men used an imitation firearm to carry out the robbery.
|
imitation leather/silk/silver
▪ phoney/phony /ˈfəʊni $ ˈfoʊ-/ disapproving informal false – used when you think someone is deliberately trying to deceive people:
She put on a phoney New York accent.
|
The doctors were accused of supplying phoney medical certificates.
|
There’s something phoney about him.
|
phony advertisements
▪ spurious /ˈspjʊəriəs $ ˈspjʊr-/ false and giving a wrong impression about someone or something:
spurious claims
|
That’s a spurious argument.
|
The company was trying to get some spurious respectability by using our name.