phony

¹

or pho·ney

[ foh-nee ]

adjective

, pho·ni·er, pho·ni·est.

1. not real or genuine; fake; counterfeit:

   a phony diamond.

2. false or deceiving; not truthful; concocted:

   a phony explanation.

3. insincere or deceitful; affected or pretentious:

   a phony sales representative.

noun

, plural pho·nies.

1. something that is phony; a counterfeit or fake.

   Synonyms: hoax, imitation, fraud

2. an insincere, pretentious, or deceitful person:

   He thought my friends were a bunch of phonies.

verb (used with object)

, pho·nied, pho·ny·ing.

1. to falsify; counterfeit; fabricate (often followed by up ):

   to phony up a document.

-phony

²

1. a combining form used in the formation of abstract nouns corresponding to nouns ending in -phone:

   telephony.

-phony

¹

combining form

1. indicating a specified type of sound

   euphony

   cacophony

phony

²

/ ˈfəʊnɪ /

adjective

1. a variant spelling (esp US) of phoney

Derived Forms

• -phonic, combining_form:in_adjective
• ˈphoniness, noun

Other Words From

• phoni·ly adverb
• phoni·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of phony¹

1895–1900; perhaps alteration and respelling of fawney (slang) finger ring (< Irish fsptáinne ), if taken to mean “false” in the phrase fawney rig a confidence game in which a brass ring is sold as a gold one

Origin of phony²

< Greek -phōnia; -phone, -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of phony¹

from Greek -phōnia, from phōnē sound

Example Sentences

So he retreats to this phony masculine idea of "strength," constructed through Hollywood magic.

From Salon

It is well established that toward the end of this year’s presidential election campaign, Russians created and disseminated phony videos designed to swing voters away from Vice President Kamala Harris.

From Slate

“This is how fascism comes to America, not with jackboots and salutes,” Robert Kagan, a political commentator and former editor-at-large for the Washington Post, wrote in 2016, “but with a television huckster, a phony billionaire, a textbook egomaniac.”

From Los Angeles Times

The way to get there, however, is not through transparently phony defenses of transparent cowardice.

From Salon

When he walked into the fast-food restaurant on Sunday, he said to the franchise owner, “I’ve always wanted to work at McDonald’s, but I never did. I’m running against somebody that said she did, but it turned out to be a totally phony story.”

From Salon

Related Words

• bogus
• counterfeit
• forged
• sham
• spurious