variants
also phoney
1
as in fake
being such in appearance only and made or manufactured with the intention of committing fraud
a phony watch with a designer logo
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bogus
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality
she always has this phony smile just before she betrays you
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in meaningless
not being or expressing what one appears to be or express
her concern for our welfare is as phony as all get-out—she just wants to know our business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also phoney
1
as in counterfeit
an imitation that is passed off as genuine
the fancy "emerald" ring turned out to be a phony
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sham
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
the person who performed the liposuction operation was later discovered to be a phony
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to fake
to imitate or copy especially in order to deceive
the terrorists were able to move around the country using phonied driver's licenses
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of phony
Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2025
In an openly phony world, who cares about being genuine?
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Jan. 2025
Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 25 July 2024
His character, called The Passenger, is unpredictable, violent and has no patience for phonies, though there is an emotional key to his madness.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 11 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
Adjective
Bryant didn’t like anything phony, anything contrived, anything that interfered with the serious business of winning a championship.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2025
In an openly phony world, who cares about being genuine?
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Jan. 2025
Noun
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
His character, called The Passenger, is unpredictable, violent and has no patience for phonies, though there is an emotional key to his madness.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 11 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phony
Adjective
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Here are the best fake car ads and parodies celebrating SNL's 50th anniversary.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA TODAY,
18 Feb. 2025
-
Yet criminals are impersonating the IRS to trick taxpayers into sharing personal information by texting them fake alerts of their eligibility for extra money, warns the Better Business Bureau.—
Kate Gibson,
CBS News,
17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The days of good old-fashioned phishing attacks using email messages laden with spelling and grammatical errors, informing you of a bogus lottery win or an unexpected inheritance, are long over.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes,
23 Feb. 2025
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Others are encouraging non-government employees to spam the OPM email with bogus lists.—
Will McCurdy,
PCMAG,
23 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
These were not the actions of a man who considered the game meaningless.—
Arpon Basu,
The Athletic,
17 Feb. 2025
-
In the publishing industry, blurbs are somehow both incredibly important and also meaningless, given that most blurbs come through a system that connects the blurber and the book’s author, rather than being an independent, uncompromised judgment.—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
How will products be vetted to detect counterfeits?—
Fernando Castellanos,
Forbes,
10 Jan. 2025
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But buyers should be careful when purchasing tickets online and be wary of counterfeits.—
Barbara A. Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The breakdown of democracy in the United States will not give rise to a classic dictatorship in which elections are a sham and the opposition is locked up, exiled, or killed.—
STEVEN LEVITSKY,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Feb. 2025
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The set includes a queen comforter and two matching pillow shams to create a cohesive look in the bedroom.—
Kelsey Fredricks,
Better Homes & Gardens,
26 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Director Brittany Burch has forged a production very much in the Gift Theatre tradition of immersive daring, although that company’s bigger current home at Filament Theatre allows for more expansive experimentation.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Feb. 2025
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Predictably, secret alliances are formed, surprising bonds are forged and betrayals, well, are an everyday occurrence.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Post misconstrues video of Trump at Gabbard's swearing-in ceremony The Threads post appeared to draw a false conclusion from Salcedo's remarks about not seeing Gabbard being sworn in during the Feb. 12 edition of his program.—
Andre Byik,
USA TODAY,
25 Feb. 2025
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Of the same token, how does one cast judgement over another without first dreaming up a potentially false perception of them?—
Harrison Richlin,
IndieWire,
24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This could certainly change if the Rockets land a certain French teenager in this year's draft lottery, but the first half of 2022-23 has assuaged some concerns about the long-term viability of a pseudo-twin-towers in the starting lineup with Jabari Smith flanked by Alperen Şengün.—
Michael Shapiro,
Chron,
15 Jan. 2023
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In a code division scheme, each call is encoded in a random or pseudo-random sequencing, and receivers at the other end are equipped to decode their own calls.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
27 Apr. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Phony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phony. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.
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