counterfeit

[ koun-ter-fit ]

/ ˈkaʊn tərˌfɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR counterfeit ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

made in imitation so as to be passed off fraudulently or deceptively as genuine; not genuine; forged: counterfeit dollar bills.

pretended; unreal: counterfeit grief.

noun

an imitation intended to be passed off fraudulently or deceptively as genuine; forgery.

Archaic. a copy.

Archaic. a close likeness; portrait.

Obsolete. impostor; pretender.

verb (used with object)

to make a counterfeit of; imitate fraudulently; forge.

to resemble.

to simulate.

verb (used without object)

to make counterfeits, as of money.

to feign; dissemble.

RELATED WORDS

pretender, plagiarist, paperhanger

Nearby words

countereconomy, counterespionage, counterexample, counterextension, counterfactual, counterfeit, counterfeiting, counterfoil, counterforce, counterfort, counterglow

Origin of counterfeit

1250–1300; (adj.) Middle English countrefet false, forged < Anglo-French cuntrefet, Old French contrefait, past participle of conterfere to copy, imitate, equivalent to conter- counter- + fere to make, do ≪ Latin facere (see fact); (v.) Middle English countrefeten, verbal derivative of countrefet

SYNONYMS FOR counterfeit

1 spurious, bogus. See false.

2 sham, feigned, simulated, fraudulent; mock, fake, ersatz.

3 falsification, sham.

7 copy; falsify.

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Related forms

coun·ter·feit·er, nouncoun·ter·feit·ly, adverbcoun·ter·feit·ness, nounnon·coun·ter·feit, adjective

un·coun·ter·feit·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for counterfeiter

Sometimes water and sky are done with the ruling engine, and when they are, no counterfeiter can successfully imitate them.
Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889|Barkham Burroughs
Paul was in exactly the same condition about the other prisoners, and the counterfeiter too.
Harper's Young People, November 2, 1880|Various
The counterfeiter, possessing a good resisting paper and suddenly desiring to make a bomb, employs it.
Wings of the Wind|Credo Harris
A week passes; they find out that Anissme has been thrown into prison as a counterfeiter.
Contemporary Russian Novelists|Serge Persky

You use those qualities as a thief or a counterfeiter would use the peculiar talents God had given him.
A Woman Intervenes|Robert Barr

British Dictionary definitions for counterfeiter

counterfeit

/ (ˈkaʊntəfɪt) /

adjective

made in imitation of something genuine with the intent to deceive or defraud; forged

simulated; shamcounterfeit affection

noun

an imitation designed to deceive or defraud

archaic an impostor; cheat

verb

(tr) to make a fraudulent imitation of

(intr) to make counterfeits

to feign; simulate

(tr) to imitate; copy

Derived Formscounterfeiter, noun

Word Origin for counterfeit

C13: from Old French contrefait, from contrefaire to copy, from contre- counter- + faire to make, from Latin facere

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

counterfeit

adjective

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of counterfeit

Examples from the Web for counterfeiter

British Dictionary definitions for counterfeiter

counterfeit

adjective

noun

verb

Word Origin for counterfeit