forgery

[ fawr-juh-ree, fohr- ]

noun

, plural for·ger·ies.

1. the crime of falsely making or altering a writing by which the legal rights or obligations of another person are apparently affected; simulated signing of another person's name to any such writing whether or not it is also the forger's name.
2. the production of a spurious work that is claimed to be genuine, as a coin, a painting, or the like.
3. something, as a coin, a work of art, or a writing, produced by forgery.
4. an act of producing something forged. forge.
5. Archaic. invention; artifice.

forgery

/ ˈfɔːdʒərɪ /

noun

1. the act of reproducing something for a deceitful or fraudulent purpose
2. something forged, such as a work of art or an antique
3. criminal law
   1. the false making or altering of any document, such as a cheque or character reference (and including a postage stamp), or any tape or disc on which information is stored, intending that anyone shall accept it as genuine and so act to his or another's prejudice
   2. something forged
4. criminal law the counterfeiting of a seal or die with intention to defraud

Word History and Origins

Origin of forgery¹

First recorded in 1565–75; forge ¹ + -ery

Example Sentences

Accounts of online auctions for forgeries of these cards suggest that they may often be an unreliable indicator of vaccine status.

From Nautilus

If it is the first case of its kind nationally, it would represent a watershed moment in the coming fight against the forgeries that security experts have long warned about.

From Washington Post

TikTok’s policy is to remove “digital forgeries” that mislead and cause harm to the subject of the video or society, such as inaccurate health information.

From Washington Post

Later this year, as countries begin to introduce vaccination “passports”—documents meant to enable people to travel or return to work more easily once they have been immunized—Stock expects a rise in forgeries seeking to game this system.

From Time

In 2018, his Dutch bank, De Volksbank, accused him of committing forgery, by stating on a bank form that he had “no other tax residence” outside the Netherlands.

From Time

But the true forgery—like the work of Han van Meegeren, the Dutch World War 2-era forger of Vermeer—is actually very rare.

From The Daily Beast

In late June, John Re was arrested on charges of engaging in an eBay forgery scheme that earned him $1.9 million.

From The Daily Beast

But Colette sees a more serious problem with forgery, beyond the distorting effect forgery has on the art market.

From The Daily Beast

On the other hand, if the text is a forgery, then it is a better forgery than previously thought.

From The Daily Beast

In some ways GJW is actually more interesting if it is a modern forgery.

From The Daily Beast

But it was strongly rumoured that there had been foul play, peculation, even forgery.

From Project Gutenberg

The unauthorized writing out and sending of a telegram in another person's name is a forgery.

From Project Gutenberg

Once Harkaway is removed from your path, you may sleep in peace, for he alone can now punish you for forgery.

From Project Gutenberg

He had an uneasy feeling that the Indian's challenge was genuine enough, but he still hoped to have it pronounced a forgery.

From Project Gutenberg

Forgery is singularly easy in a land where the seal is the sole signature, and any seal-cutter can copy it from an impression.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• falsification