PHONY


Meaning of PHONY in English

I. adjective

or pho·ney ˈfōnē, -ni

( phonier ; phoniest )

Etymology: origin unknown

: marked by empty pretension : false , spurious

a perpetually phony front of good fellowship is assumed — V.A.Young

Synonyms: see counterfeit

II. noun

or phoney “

( plural phonies or phoneys )

: one that is fraudulent or spurious : fake , sham

this political issue — absenteeism — is a phony if there ever was one — T.R.Ybarra

he who writes or composes without the true inner fire … will always be a phony — H.W.Van Loon

III. transitive verb

or phoney “

( phonied or phoneyed ; phonied or phoneyed ; phonying or phoneying ; phonies or phoneys )

: counterfeit , fake

no one could phony a list like that — Frances Lindley

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.