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
EW.com, 5 Feb. 2025
The phony officers appeared at Temple just days after seven people were detained by real ICE agents at a Philadelphia car wash.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 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
There's a phony weight-loss ad floating around online on Instagram that has me, AI-mouthed, saying all kinds of stuff.
—EW.com, 5 Feb. 2025
The phony officers appeared at Temple just days after seven people were detained by real ICE agents at a Philadelphia car wash.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 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
-
The reports that have gone viral on social media are fake news.—
Natasha Dye,
People.com,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Call scams have been making headlines recently, fueled by the rise in AI threats and urgent but fake banking and technical support calls that push users to install software or transfer money.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, President Trump’s nominee to head the C.D.C. is David Weldon, a physician and a former Republican U.S. congressman from Florida who, like Kennedy, has promoted the bogus claim that vaccines cause autism.—
Jessica Winter,
The New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2025
-
Sheriff’s deputies are supposed to examine each video before fines are assessed, but a review of videos by Herald/Tributary journalists suggests there are plenty of bogus violations the deputies aren’t weeding out.—
Clara-Sophia Daly,
Miami Herald,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
If Missouri were to abolish state income taxes, tax credits would become meaningless.—
Jeremy Kohler,
ProPublica,
5 Mar. 2025
-
Xavier is headed out of the silo Xavier was always going to leave the silo to try to find his wife, despite a brief tryst with Sinatra's therapist, Dr. Gabriela Torabi (Sarah Shahi), that wound up being meaningless from both a plot and character perspective.—
Eliana Dockterman,
TIME,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Cases of counterfeits have been rare, but with prices rising into the six- and seven-figure range, obtaining that certified guarantee is important.—
Rob Salkowitz,
Forbes,
25 Feb. 2025
-
Thousands of counterfeit forever stamps were blocked from entering postal circulation by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Alabama, officials said.—
Natalie Demaree,
Miami Herald,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The set comes with two shams and a woven quilt that feels smooth and comfortable to sleep under all year round, according to shoppers.—
Toni Sutton,
People.com,
28 Feb. 2025
-
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
Verb
-
President Trump and Elon Musk have forged ahead with an aggressive plan to downsize the federal government, with Musk using his Department of Government Efficiency to reduce personnel, cancel contracts and halt aid to organizations.—
Miami Herald Staff,
Miami Herald,
7 Mar. 2025
-
But should the White House recoil from the Five Eyes, the remaining members could forge ahead with beefing up bilateral agreements on intelligence sharing between individual countries.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
To illustrate, in the United Kingdom vaccinations took a considerable dip in the early 2000s after Wakefield’ false claims of a link between the MMR shot and autism were posted in the media.—
Joshua P. Cohen,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
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In those documents, West discussed not only how to conduct experiments to implant false memories, instill specific mental disorders, and induce trance states, but also how to hide them.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
8 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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 12 Mar. 2025.
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