Phony

//ˈfoʊni// adj, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Fraudulent; fake; having a misleading appearance. informal

    "A good jeweler should be able to tell a real stone from a phony one."

Adjective
  1. 1
    fraudulent; having a misleading appearance wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    A person who assumes an identity or quality other than their own. informal

    "He claims to be a doctor, but he's nothing but a fast-talking phony."

  2. 2
    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 wordnet
  3. 3
    A person who professes beliefs or opinions that they do not hold. informal

    "He's such a phony, he doesn't believe half of what he says."

  4. 4
    Anything fraudulent or fake. informal

    "One name was a phony, but the other was the true name. The clerk remembered the man who had filed the tags since he acquired two sets of plates with different names."

Verb
  1. 1
    To fake. informal

Etymology

Etymology 1

Of unknown origin. Perhaps an alteration of fawny (“gilt brass ring used by swindlers”) (1781), from Irish fáinne (“ring”).

Etymology 2

Of unknown origin. Perhaps an alteration of fawny (“gilt brass ring used by swindlers”) (1781), from Irish fáinne (“ring”).

Etymology 3

Of unknown origin. Perhaps an alteration of fawny (“gilt brass ring used by swindlers”) (1781), from Irish fáinne (“ring”).

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