I. ˈkau̇ntə(r)ˌfit, usu -id.+V; Brit also -ˌfēt verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English countrefeten, from Middle French contrefait, past participle
transitive verb
1. obsolete : impersonate
2. : to put on the false appearance of : feign , simulate
counterfeit sorrow and mask inward glee
3.
a. : to endeavor or succeed in having the appearance or characteristics of without attempt to deceive or delude : imitate , copy
fiction that seeks to counterfeit reality — Bernard De Voto
b. : to imitate fraudulently : copy with intent to deceive : make a fraudulent copy or replica of (something of value, as a coin, bill, note, or signature)
a gang counterfeiting $50 bills
4.
a. archaic : to use as a model : seek to imitate : emulate
b. obsolete : to cause to have a false or misleading appearance : disguise
intransitive verb
1. : to try to deceive by pretending or dissembling : simulate , feign
2. : to practice counterfeiting of valuables
held on charges of counterfeiting
Synonyms: see assume
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle English countrefet, from Middle French contrefait, past participle of contrefaire to imitate, draw, paint, from contre- counter- + faire to make, from Latin facere — more at do
1.
a. : spurious : not genuine or authentic ; especially : not composed by the author indicated or under the circumstances ascribed
a counterfeit gospel rejected as apocryphal
b. : made in fraudulent imitation : produced with intent to deceive : forged
a counterfeit diamond made of paste
especially : made fraudulently in imitation of a government issue
a counterfeit stamp
a counterfeit bill
2.
a. : feigned : assumed with calculation to mislead
a counterfeit joy at her friend's engagement
b. : marked by false pretense : sham , pretended
an impostor, a counterfeit prince
3. archaic : represented in a picture or by means of a picture : portrayed
look here upon this picture and on this, the counterfeit presentment of two brothers — Shakespeare
Synonyms:
spurious , bogus , fake , sham , pseudo , pinchbeck , phony : counterfeit applies to something made or fabricated in quite close imitation of something else, especially to something genuine or original and with intent to deceive
a counterfeit coin
a counterfeit passport
the austere word of genuine religion is: save your soul! The degenerate counsel of a counterfeit religion is: salve your soul! — W.L.Sullivan
spurious applies to what is not genuine, authentic, or true without necessarily implying fraudulent purpose or deceiving imitation
the French look on us English monk-made knights as spurious and adulterine, unworthy of the name of knight — Charles Kingsley
it is certain that the letter, attributed to him, directing that no Christian should be punished for being a Christian, is spurious — Matthew Arnold
bogus is likely to imply fraud, imposture, or deception, sometimes self-deception
in red cambric and bogus ermine, as some kind of king — Mark Twain
bogus naturalization of immigrants and repeating at elections were now carried to hitherto unknown lengths — A.F.Harlow
nostalgia can be the trickiest of maladies. It invests the past with bogus glamour — W.C.Richards
fake implies a false fabrication or fraudulent manipulation
a fake ruby
a fake cure-all
another source of quick money was selling life memberships in fake yacht clubs — Alva Johnston
any Americans who cling to illusions about communism and its fake Utopia — A.E.Stevenson b.1900
sham may suggest thinness and obviousness of the disguise, naiveté of the deception, or lack of intent to imitate exactly
a garden adorned with sham ruins and statues — L.P.Smith
he [Euripides] looked at war and he saw through all the sham glory to the awful evil beneath — Edith Hamilton
not one officer among them whose experience of war extended beyond a drill on muster day and the sham fight that closed the performance — Francis Parkman
pseudo (often appearing as a combining form) may apply to either pretentious, spurious imitation or to imitation to deceive
the cottage seemed very small and horribly ‘arty-crafty . Everthing seemed so pseudo, ’ said Lucy — Frances Towers
those democrats who wholeheartedly are democrats and not pseudo -democrats — Fortnightly
these pseudo -evangelists pretended to inspiration — Thomas Jefferson
pinchbeck may apply to a cheap imitation, often to a poor copy of something costly or grand
pinchbeck imitations of the glory of ancient Rome — Manchester Guardian Weekly
greater numbers could afford the pinchbeck splendor of organizations like the Colonial Order of the Crown — J.D.Hart
phony , more forceful than most in this group, stigmatizes anything spurious
the phony aura of romance which travel bureaus are wont to attach to the West Indies — Gladwin Hill
the Germans were deceiving us at that very moment with a phony show of strength — F.E.Fox
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English countrefet, from countrefet, adjective
1.
a. : an imitation or replica markedly close or faithful to an original and typically made to deceive for gain
the $10 bill turned out to be a counterfeit
b. : a close approximation likely to be confused with reality or with the genuine
that temporary counterfeit of fame which is publicity — Irwin Edman
2. archaic : a representation, counterpart, or picture : an art work closely similar to its subject
fair Portia's counterfeit — Shakespeare
3. archaic : pretender , impostor
Synonyms: see imposture