bogus

[ boh-guhs ]

adjective

1. not genuine; counterfeit; spurious; sham.

   Synonyms: phony, fake, pseudo, fraudulent

noun

1. Printing, Journalism. matter set, by union requirement, by a compositor and later discarded, duplicating the text of an advertisement for which a plate has been supplied or type set by another publisher.

bogus

/ ˈbəʊɡəs /

adjective

1. spurious or counterfeit; not genuine

   a bogus note

Derived Forms

• ˈbogusness, noun
• ˈbogusly, adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of bogus¹

1825–30, Americanism; originally an apparatus for coining false money; perhaps akin to bogy ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of bogus¹

C19: from bogus apparatus for making counterfeit money; perhaps related to bogey ¹

Example Sentences

The man, Joshua Kemp, told what police describe as “a bogus story that quickly fell apart.”

From The Daily Beast

With a nose for bogus facts, Johnson sets out to break the Internet by breaking news.

From The Daily Beast

Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative National Review, called that statistic “bogus.”

From The Daily Beast

He opens up about the bogus Midnight Express, Oliver Stone on blow, and his riveting one-man show.

From The Daily Beast

What do they do if they find out there are these bogus parts that can come unscrewed?

From The Daily Beast

"'If you are not a bogus Bunny you will know,'" I read, spreading the message out before me.

From Project Gutenberg

She must explain to me how that bogus money came into her possession.

From Project Gutenberg

The story of the bogus package had been noised abroad through later messengers and dispatches from the Gap.

From Project Gutenberg

Oh, you've lost your nerve since Merriwell and Griswold put up that girl job on you, and Diamond drew you into a bogus duel.

From Project Gutenberg

Frank had no notes or accounts that were of any value; they were all bogus and got up to deceive his poor old father and others.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• fake
• false
• fictitious
• forged
• fraudulent
• phony
• sham
• spurious