phony

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pho·ny

also pho·ney (fō′nē)

adj. pho·ni·er, pho·ni·est

1. Not genuine or real; sham or counterfeit: a phony credit card; a phony beard.

2. Spurious, deceptive, or false: a phony excuse.

3. Fraudulent, deceitful, or dishonest: a phony expert in investing.

n. pl. pho·nies also pho·neys

1. A fraudulent or dishonest person.

2. Something that is not genuine; a fake.

[Alteration of fawney, gilt brass ring used by swindlers, from Irish Gaelic fáinne, ring, from Old Irish.]

pho′ni·ly adv.

pho′ni·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

phony

(ˈfəʊnɪ)

adj, n -nier or -niest, pl -nies

a variant spelling (esp US) of phoney

ˈphoniness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pho•ny

or pho•ney

(ˈfoʊ ni)

adj. -ni•er, -ni•est, adj.

1. not real or genuine; fake: phony diamonds.

2. false or deceiving: a phony excuse.

3. affected or pretentious.

4. something phony; a counterfeit or fake.

5. an insincere or affected person.

v.t.

6. to falsify (often fol. by up): to phony up a document.

[1895–1900; perhaps alter. and resp. of fawney (slang) finger ring (< Irish fáinne), taken to mean “false” in the phrase fawney rig a confidence game in which a brass ring is sold as a gold one]

pho′ni•ly, adv.

pho′ni•ness, n.

-phony

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

[< Greek -phōnia; see -phone, -y³]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	phony - a person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives dissembler, dissimulator, hypocrite, phoney, pretender beguiler, cheater, deceiver, trickster, slicker, cheat - someone who leads you to believe something that is not true charmer, smoothie, smoothy, sweet talker - someone with an assured and ingratiating manner Tartufe, Tartuffe - a hypocrite who pretends to religious piety (after the protagonist in a play by Moliere) whited sepulcher, whited sepulchre - a person who is inwardly evil but outwardly professes to be virtuous
Adj.	1.	phony - fraudulent; having a misleading appearance bastard, bogus, fake, phoney counterfeit, imitative - not genuine; imitating something superior; "counterfeit emotion"; "counterfeit money"; "counterfeit works of art"; "a counterfeit prince"

phony

also phoney
adjective

1. Fraudulently or deceptively imitative:

bogus, counterfeit, fake, false, fraudulent, sham, spurious, suppositious, supposititious.

2. Not genuine or sincere:

affected, artificial, feigned, insincere, pretended.

3. Of or practicing hypocrisy:

hypocritical, Pecksniffian, pharisaic, pharisaical, sanctimonious, two-faced.

noun

1. A fraudulent imitation:

counterfeit, fake, forgery, sham.

2. One who fakes:

charlatan, fake, faker, fraud, humbug, impostor, mountebank, pretender, quack.

3. A person who practices hypocrisy:

hypocrite, pharisee, tartuffe.

Translations

إنْسان أو شَيء مُزَيَّفكاذِب، مُزّيَّف، مُصْطَنَع

falsch Schwindler

charlatan faux

假冒者假的骗子

phon(e)y

(ˈfəuni) adjective

not genuine; fake; false. a phoney French accent.

noun

a person who is not what he pretends to be. He's not a real doctor – he's a phoney.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

Tell me, Phony, what is this record like, which you say you have on tap?"

Phony, and scatter your pieces far and wide over the country, as a matter of kindness to the people you might meet if allowed to run around loose.

View in context

He sees a phony war that came out of a phony victory, producing an unsatisfactory, uncomfortable, unhappy peace, and the self-flattering fantasy that Britain won the war and the common belief that they did so more or less alone.

The Phoney Victory: The World War II Illusion

Four New Jersey men and six of their associated businesses were charged with first-degree conspiracy and money laundering in connection with a bank scheme involving the deposit of nearly $1.4 million in phony or forged checks related to insurance claims.

New Jersey Men, Associated Companies Charged in $1.4M Insurance Fraud Scheme

The incident is one example of a fast-growing problem: phony photos.

When Photos Lie

At a KeySpan gathering two years later, Rachel Robinson, Jackie's widow, saw and acknowledged Dan Wilson, whom The New York Times described as "the longest-tenured active member of the Dodgers Sym-phony--as in phony symphony ..." On that occasion, the Sym-phony included Arnie Mig, also 85, playing cymbals; Lou Mento, 82, on bass drum; saxophonist Rex Sita, 77; and trombonist Nick Fiore, also 77.

Shorty, Brother Lou, and the Dodgers Sym-phony

And they drove a phony wedge, it's a phony witch hunt.

Trump says Mueller probe has "driven a wedge" between U.S., Russia

Summary: Washington DC [United States], June 22 (ANI): United States President Donald Trump, who faced massive backlash over his administration's immigration policy, has accused the Democrats of circulating "phony stories of sadness and grief."

Democrats narrating phony border stories: Trump

The phony liberals will stop at nothing to control the U.S.

Phony Liberal Outrage

The Oyo State Government has cautioned residents in the state to be wary of phony travel agencies, job scams and illegal tax collections which are now on the rise all over the country, advising that any organisation or individual found culpable should be reported to security agencies with a warning that such people will not be allowed to get away with the crimes..

Beware of phony agents, job scams, Oyo govt warns citizens

This time he was exposed yet again for his phony undercover "journalism" for trying to set up the Wash Post to take the bait on yet another of his phony "stings." The problem was that, as an actual news organization, the Wash Post checks up on its potential sources and found the fingerprints of JO'S absurdly named "Project Veritas" all over the place.

Gotcha!

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