phony

or pho·ney

[foh-nee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR phony ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, pho·ni·er, pho·ni·est.

not real or genuine; fake; counterfeit: a phony diamond.

false or deceiving; not truthful; concocted: a phony explanation.

insincere or deceitful; affected or pretentious: a phony sales representative.

noun, plural pho·nies.

something that is phony; a counterfeit or fake.

an insincere, pretentious, or deceitful person: He thought my friends were a bunch of phonies.

verb (used with object), pho·nied, pho·ny·ing.

to falsify; counterfeit; fabricate (often followed by up): to phony up a document.

Nearby words

Origin of phony

1895–1900; perhaps alteration and respelling of fawney (slang) finger ring (< Irish fsptáinne), if taken to mean “false” in the phrase fawney rig a confidence game in which a brass ring is sold as a gold one

SYNONYMS FOR phony

4. fraud, imitation, hoax.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR phony ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formspho·ni·ly, adverbpho·ni·ness, noun

-phony

a combining form used in the formation of abstract nouns corresponding to nouns ending in -phone: telephony.

Origin of -phony

< Greek -phōnia; see -phone, -y³

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

Examples from the Web for phony

Surely they believe as well that the very concept of an ethnic nation “chosen” by God is phony and unjust.
No Drama Obama's Israel Ambivalence|James Poulos|July 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This single program alone has generated tens of thousands of phony Twitterers.
Your Fake Followers Are Catfishing You: Bacon Mavens, Newt’s Fake Fans, and Other Social Media Scams|Charles Seife|July 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 2012, Facebook announced that 83 million profiles—pushing 10 percent of the total number on the site—were phony.
Your Fake Followers Are Catfishing You: Bacon Mavens, Newt’s Fake Fans, and Other Social Media Scams|Charles Seife|July 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Of course, the incentive for the Gingrich team would be not to delete the phony accounts.
Your Fake Followers Are Catfishing You: Bacon Mavens, Newt’s Fake Fans, and Other Social Media Scams|Charles Seife|July 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Just like refusing vaccines will do nothing to reverse these changes, neither will phony detoxifying remedies.
FDA Moves to Crack Down on Quack Autism ‘Cures’|Russell Saunders|April 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I didnt say your invention was a phony, Colonel Dower said placatingly.
With No Strings Attached|Gordon Randall Garrett (AKA David Gordon)
The "flyest" pickpocket did not disdain the income to be derived from the sale of "phony" jewellery.
Comrade Yetta|Albert Edwards
If anyone knows the phony finance game at all, it's J. Bayard Steele.
Shorty McCabe on the Job|Sewell Ford
Maybe the guy was a crackpot or phony, but it wouldn't hurt to hear his story.
The Chameleon Man|William P. McGivern
If they talk in that puttin'-on, play-actin' way you do, they are a bunch of phony show-offin' hypocrites!
The Reluctant Weapon|Howard L. Myers

British Dictionary definitions for phony

phony

adjective, noun -nier or -niest or plural -nies

a variant spelling (esp US) of phoney

Derived Formsphoniness, noun

-phony

n combining form

indicating a specified type of soundcacophony; euphony

Derived Forms-phonic, adj combining form

Word Origin for -phony

from Greek -phōnia, from phōnē sound

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

Word Origin and History for phony

phony

adj.

also phoney, "not genuine," 1899, perhaps an alteration of fawney "gilt brass ring used by swindlers."

His most successful swindle was selling "painted" or "phony" diamonds. He had a plan of taking cheap stones, and by "doctoring" them make them have a brilliant and high class appearance. His confederates would then take the diamonds to other pawnbrokers and dispose of them. ["The Jewelers Review," New York, April 5, 1899]

The noun meaning "phony person or thing" is attested from 1902.

Medicine definitions for phony

-phony

suff.

Sound:microphony.

phony

or pho·ney

adjective, pho·ni·er, pho·ni·est.

noun, plural pho·nies.

verb (used with object), pho·nied, pho·ny·ing.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of phony

-phony

Origin of -phony

Examples from the Web for phony

phony

adjective, noun -nier or -niest or plural -nies

-phony

n combining form

Word Origin for -phony

phony

-phony

suff.