phoney

[ foh-nee ]

/ ˈfoʊ ni /

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adjective, noun, verb (used with object), pho·ni·er, pho·ni·est,plural pho·neys,pho·neyed, pho·ney·ing.

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OTHER WORDS FROM phoney

pho·ney·ness, noun

Words nearby phoney

phoneticize, phonetic law, phonetics, phonetist, Phonevision, phoney, phoniatrics, phonic, phonics, phono, phonoangiography

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use phoney in a sentence

Its claim that NATO had no choice but to accept new members from Central and Eastern Europe was phoney, Putin argued.
The Miscalculations and Missed Opportunities that Led Putin to War in Ukraine|Philip Short|August 3, 2022|Time
To talk about horology on the moon wouldn't add to Dabney's stature as a phoney scientist.
Operation: Outer Space|William Fitzgerald Jenkins
It had had, in fact, to be an honest job of ship-building in order to put across a phoney promotion.
Operation: Outer Space|William Fitzgerald Jenkins
Don't you know that you an' me stand to swing if any of de bunch gets gabby in front of dis phoney punk?
The Oakdale Affair|Edgar Rice Burroughs

Well, I'll gamble a stack of blue chips there ain't such a phoney pair in Manhattan Village.
The Definite Object|Jeffery Farnol
It would be an adventure, at least, and Murphy's repeated assertions that it was "a phoney" invited investigation.
Spring Street|James H. Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for phoney

phoney

esp US phony

informal

adjective -nier or -niest

not genuine; fake

(of a person) insincere or pretentious

noun plural -neys or -nies

an insincere or pretentious person

something that is not genuine; a fake

Derived forms of phoney

phoneyness or esp US phoniness, noun

Word Origin for phoney

C20: origin uncertain

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