bogus

[ boh-guhs ]

adjective

1. not genuine; counterfeit; spurious; sham.

   Synonyms: phony, fake, pseudo, fraudulent

noun

1. Printing, Journalism. matter set, by union requirement, by a compositor and later discarded, duplicating the text of an advertisement for which a plate has been supplied or type set by another publisher.

bogus

/ ˈbəʊɡəs /

adjective

1. spurious or counterfeit; not genuine

   a bogus note

Derived Forms

• ˈbogusly, adverb
• ˈbogusness, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bogus¹

1825–30, Americanism; originally an apparatus for coining false money; perhaps akin to bogy ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of bogus¹

C19: from bogus apparatus for making counterfeit money; perhaps related to bogey ¹

Example Sentences

Let’s stop right here in our celebration of Veterans Day and discuss this wholly invented and utterly bogus issue of the “woke” military.

From Salon

On its website, McAfee offers a set of tips for identifying probable deepfakes, avoiding election-related scams and not spreading bogus media.

From Los Angeles Times

Her team has still not established how many people signed up to the bogus site and she fears some may not realise they have fake appointments until they turn up for them in December.

From BBC

Trump has called the cases against him bogus, and Smith’s case in particular a “SCAM.”

From Los Angeles Times

In his view, deepfake political ads and other bogus material broadcast to a wide audience won’t have much effect because “they get debunked fairly quickly.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• fake
• false
• fictitious
• forged
• fraudulent
• phony
• sham
• spurious