phony
Use Phony in a sentence
pho·ny
[foh-nee] adjective, pho·ni·er, pho·ni·est, noun, plural pho·nies, verb, pho·nied, pho·ny·ing. 
ni adjective
1.
not real or genuine; fake; counterfeit: a phony diamond.
2.
false or deceiving; not truthful; concocted: a phony explanation.
3.
insincere or deceitful; affected or pretentious: a phony sales representative.
noun
4.
something that is phony; a counterfeit or fake.
5.
an insincere, pretentious, or deceitful person: He thought my friends were a bunch of phonies.
00:10
Phony
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
| to bark; yelp. |
verb (used with object)
6.
to falsify; counterfeit; fabricate (often followed by up ): to phony up a document.
Also, phoney.
Origin:
1895–1900; perhaps alteration and respelling of fawney (slang) finger ring (< Irish fsptáinne), if taken to mean “false” in the phrase fawney rig a confidence game in which a brass ring is sold as a gold one
1895–1900; perhaps alteration and respelling of fawney (slang) finger ring (< Irish fsptáinne), if taken to mean “false” in the phrase fawney rig a confidence game in which a brass ring is sold as a gold one
Related forms
pho·ni·ly, adverb
pho·ni·ness, noun
Synonyms
4. fraud, imitation, hoax.
4. fraud, imitation, hoax.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To phony
Collins
World English Dictionary
phoney or phony (ˈfəʊnɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj , -nier, -niest | |
| 1. | not genuine; fake |
| 2. | (of a person) insincere or pretentious |
| —n , -nier, -niest, -neys, -nies | |
| 3. | an insincere or pretentious person |
| 4. | something that is not genuine; a fake |
| [C20: origin uncertain] | |
| phony or phony | |
| —adj | |
| —n | |
| [C20: origin uncertain] | |
| 'phoneyness or phony | |
| —n | |
| 'phoniness or phony | |
| —n | |
| phony (ˈfəʊnɪ) | |
| —adj, —n , pl -nies, -nier, -niest | |
| a variant spelling (esp US) of phoney | |
| 'phoniness | |
| —n | |
| -phony | |
| —n combining form | |
| indicating a specified type of sound: cacophony; euphony | |
| [from Greek -phōnia, from phōnē sound] | |
| -phonic | |
| —adj combining form | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
phony
"not genuine," 1900, phoney, perhaps an alteration of fawney "gilt brass ring used by swindlers" (1781), from Ir. fainne "ring." The noun meaning "phony person or thing" is attested from 1902.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
-phony suff.
sound: microphony.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang Dictionary
phony definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
Along with the diplomas, the company also provided fake transcripts and phony letters of recommendation.
When auditors asked to see the file on a phony insurance policy, the company's employees would simply fake it.
The phony ad describes the sort of stuff you'll find in the fake mag.
Every word and image in the book is aimed at disrupting the phony transparency of media.
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