variants
or less commonly phoney
phonier; phoniest
: not genuine or real: such as
a(1)
: intended to deceive or mislead
(2)
: intended to defraud : counterfeit
b
: arousing suspicion : probably dishonest
something phony about the story
c
: having no basis in fact : fictitious
phony publicity stories
phonied; phonying
: counterfeit, fake
—often used with up
a paper phonied up on the spur of the moment—
William Faulkner
William Faulkner
variants
or less commonly -phonia
1
: sound
telephony
2
usually -phonia
: speech disorder of a (specified) type
dysphonia
Synonyms
Examples of phony in a Sentence
Adjective
a phony watch with a designer logo
she always has this phony smile just before she betrays you
Noun
According to him, politics is full of phonies.
I don't think she ever meant to help us. What a phony!
Verb
the terrorists were able to move around the country using phonied driver's licenses
Recent Examples on the Web
Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 20 Nov. 2024
Alaska's top education official used AI to draft a state-wide school policy on cell phone use, and the chatbot cited multiple phony studies.
—Emily Dreibelbis Forlini, PCMAG, 11 Nov. 2024
Hannah Schoenbaum, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2024
The comment was Vance's response after Beshear had previously called him a phony and not a Kentuckian and implied heavily that nepotism was the only reason Beshear is governor.
—Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 25 July 2024
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2024
In fact, legislators and regulators are rolling back regulations designed to protect investors, who in this case are estimated to have lost $100 billion to phony Chinese firms.
—Gary Thompson, Philly.com, 29 Mar. 2018
See all Example Sentences for phony 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Adjective
Grot was among those charged last year by the state's attorney general for allegedly signing a phony certificate pledging the state's Electoral College votes to Trump.
—Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 20 Nov. 2024
Alaska's top education official used AI to draft a state-wide school policy on cell phone use, and the chatbot cited multiple phony studies.
—Emily Dreibelbis Forlini, PCMAG, 11 Nov. 2024
Noun
Romney had been one of Trump’s most strident critics in the 2016 election, calling him a phony and a fraud.
—Hannah Schoenbaum, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2024
The comment was Vance's response after Beshear had previously called him a phony and not a Kentuckian and implied heavily that nepotism was the only reason Beshear is governor.
—Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 25 July 2024
Verb
What constitutes the crime is to phony up business accounting records to disguise the payments.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2024
In fact, legislators and regulators are rolling back regulations designed to protect investors, who in this case are estimated to have lost $100 billion to phony Chinese firms.
—Gary Thompson, Philly.com, 29 Mar. 2018
See all Example Sentences for phony
Dictionary Entries Near phony
Cite this Entry
“Phony.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phony. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
phony
1 of 2 adjective
pho·ny
variants
also phoney
phonier; phoniest
: not genuine or real: as
a(1)
: intended to deceive or mislead
(2)
: counterfeit entry 2 sense 1
a phony $10 bill
b
: causing suspicion : probably dishonest
sounds like a phony excuse to me
c
: fictitious, false
gave a phony name to the police
phoniness
noun
phony
2 of 2 noun
variants
also phoney
plural phonies also phoneys
: a phony person or thing
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