variants
also phoney
1
as in fake
being such in appearance only and made or manufactured with the intention of committing fraud
a phony watch with a designer logo
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bogus
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality
she always has this phony smile just before she betrays you
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in meaningless
not being or expressing what one appears to be or express
her concern for our welfare is as phony as all get-out—she just wants to know our business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also phoney
1
as in counterfeit
an imitation that is passed off as genuine
the fancy "emerald" ring turned out to be a phony
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sham
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
the person who performed the liposuction operation was later discovered to be a phony
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to fake
to imitate or copy especially in order to deceive
the terrorists were able to move around the country using phonied driver's licenses
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of phony
Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2025
In an openly phony world, who cares about being genuine?
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Jan. 2025
Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 25 July 2024
His character, called The Passenger, is unpredictable, violent and has no patience for phonies, though there is an emotional key to his madness.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 11 July 2024
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2024
In fact, legislators and regulators are rolling back regulations designed to protect investors, who in this case are estimated to have lost $100 billion to phony Chinese firms.
—Gary Thompson, Philly.com, 29 Mar. 2018
See all Example Sentences for phony 
Adjective
Bryant didn’t like anything phony, anything contrived, anything that interfered with the serious business of winning a championship.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2025
In an openly phony world, who cares about being genuine?
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Jan. 2025
Noun
The comment was Vance's response after Beshear had previously called him a phony and not a Kentuckian and implied heavily that nepotism was the only reason Beshear is governor.
—Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 25 July 2024
His character, called The Passenger, is unpredictable, violent and has no patience for phonies, though there is an emotional key to his madness.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 11 July 2024
Verb
What constitutes the crime is to phony up business accounting records to disguise the payments.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2024
In fact, legislators and regulators are rolling back regulations designed to protect investors, who in this case are estimated to have lost $100 billion to phony Chinese firms.
—Gary Thompson, Philly.com, 29 Mar. 2018
See all Example Sentences for phony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phony
Adjective
-
Here are the best fake car ads and parodies celebrating SNL's 50th anniversary.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA TODAY,
18 Feb. 2025
-
Yet criminals are impersonating the IRS to trick taxpayers into sharing personal information by texting them fake alerts of their eligibility for extra money, warns the Better Business Bureau.—
Kate Gibson,
CBS News,
17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
In the Burrow case, the suspects allegedly carried bogus ID cards purportedly from Argentina and other countries, and bearing false names, according to the affidavit.—
Bill Chappell,
NPR,
11 Feb. 2025
-
The price of bitcoin spiked by more than $1,000 after the bogus tweet by the hackers on Jan. 9, 2024.—
Dan Mangan,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
However, trying to draw an AI line may be meaningless when the term itself is so all-encompassing.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
7 Feb. 2025
-
Her Washington insider status is meaningless during the next four years of the Trump administration and an unfriendly Congress.—
Letters To The Editor,
The Mercury News,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
How will products be vetted to detect counterfeits?—
Fernando Castellanos,
Forbes,
10 Jan. 2025
-
But buyers should be careful when purchasing tickets online and be wary of counterfeits.—
Barbara A. Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The breakdown of democracy in the United States will not give rise to a classic dictatorship in which elections are a sham and the opposition is locked up, exiled, or killed.—
STEVEN LEVITSKY,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Feb. 2025
-
The set includes a queen comforter and two matching pillow shams to create a cohesive look in the bedroom.—
Kelsey Fredricks,
Better Homes & Gardens,
26 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
In any case, California is forging ahead with its ambitious electric vehicle plans, despite Trump’s opposition.—
Sammy Roth,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2025
-
Daniel Levin had a keen eye for underappreciated property in Chicago and in 50 years as a real estate developer forged new ground in making sometimes-gutsy calls to build large projects in areas of the city that hadn’t attracted much development.—
Bob Goldsborough,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Once false lashes are set, apply kohl eyeliner to line your upper waterline and a few more swipes of mascara to the inner corner for an extra pop.—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
11 Feb. 2025
-
There’s a lot of false symbolism and false activism, and there’s a lot of people who really capitalize on this half-baked symbolism without deliverables.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
This could certainly change if the Rockets land a certain French teenager in this year's draft lottery, but the first half of 2022-23 has assuaged some concerns about the long-term viability of a pseudo-twin-towers in the starting lineup with Jabari Smith flanked by Alperen Şengün.—
Michael Shapiro,
Chron,
15 Jan. 2023
-
In a code division scheme, each call is encoded in a random or pseudo-random sequencing, and receivers at the other end are equipped to decode their own calls.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
27 Apr. 2021
Thesaurus Entries Near phony
Cite this Entry
“Phony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phony. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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