faux

adjective

ˈfō 

: not real or genuine: such as

a

: made to look like something else that is usually more valuable : imitation, fake

faux leather/fur

a string of faux pearls

… faux is the French word for fake, but it's a very chic fake. Faux marble, for example, is found in the best of homes.

—Sylvia Sachs

b

: not sincere

a show of faux [=feigned] concern

On Monday the CEO dusted off a version of the "I'm sorry if I offended you" faux apology used when people really mean, "I'm sorry I got caught."

—The East Bay (California) Times

Synonyms

• artificial
• bogus
• dummy
• ersatz
• factitious
• fake
• false
• imitation
• imitative
• man-made
• mimic
• mock
• pretend
• sham
• simulated
• substitute
• synthetic

Examples of faux in a Sentence

even the celebrity interior designer was fooled by the faux marble

Recent Examples on the Web

That his faux prayer hardly even touched on the show’s nominees didn’t prevent it whatsoever from killing. —Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2025

Sabrina After Dark, the faux series Sabrina Carpenter built into her live show on the Short n’ Sweet tour, has been renewed for another season. —Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2025

But the biggest changes can be found at the back of the car, where the rear end has been outfitted with a pair of vertical stabilizers and a set of faux afterburners and missiles. —Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 27 Feb. 2025

Rag & Bone’s unique digital printing technique creates an optical illusion that gives the bottoms a denim-like effect, straight down to the faux button detailing. —Melony Forcier, People.com, 24 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, false

First Known Use

1682, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing faux

• faux hawk
• faux-naïf
• faux-naif
• faux pas

Rhymes for faux

• beau
• beaux
• blow
• boe
• bro
• coe
• crow
• doe
• doh
• dough
• eau
• eaux

Kids Definition

faux

adjective

ˈfō 

: imitation entry 2

faux marble

Etymology

from French, "false," from Latin falsus