PHONEY


Meaning of PHONEY in English

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

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a fake Rolex watch

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fake designer goods

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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

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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?

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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.

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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.

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The doctors were accused of supplying phoney medical certificates.

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There’s something phoney about him.

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phony advertisements

▪ spurious /ˈspjʊəriəs $ ˈspjʊr-/ false and giving a wrong impression about someone or something:

spurious claims

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That’s a spurious argument.

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The company was trying to get some spurious respectability by using our name.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.