faux
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of faux
1670–80; < French; Old French fals < Latin falsus false
Explanation
Faux means fake, or imitation. If you love the look of diamonds but can't afford one, get a faux diamond ring. Faux is a French word that has crept into our lexicon, because faux in French means "fake." Now if we have the words fake, imitation, and false (all of which are good synonyms), why use faux? For fashion, dahling. Use faux to talk about faux fur, faux gemstones, or to make fun of a "faux pas," which is French for "no-no," widely used among the witty international set when someone does something gauche (French for "clumsy").
Vocabulary lists containing faux
The Silent Treatment: Words Plagued by Silent Letters
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When Fake is Real: Young People Rebel Against Instagram, Via Instagram
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The Distance Between Us
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It feels like a faux pas, to be that forward-thinking, and to be saying the quiet part out loud!
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
We were sitting at a wooden table near the bar at the far end of Bukowski Grill, a kitschy American-style steakhouse, with faux deer heads mounted on the walls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Another Kushner faux pas, this one perhaps reflecting his ignorance of European history: “There is no such thing in the world as forever enemies or forever allies.”
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
Viewers, too, will be made anxious by the simulated plane as well as the faux fire, smoke and collapsing architecture, though the actions being recalled by specific survivors remain the province of their memories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Some of the pilots were drifting back from the bar, still laughing at the rare faux pas of a colonel’s wife calling her husband at happy hour.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
