counterfeit 1 of 3

counterfeit

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noun

counterfeit

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word counterfeit different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of counterfeit are fake, fraud, humbug, imposture, and sham. While all these words mean "a thing made to seem other than it is," counterfeit applies especially to the close imitation of something valuable.

20-dollar bills that were counterfeits

In what contexts can fake take the place of counterfeit?

The synonyms fake and counterfeit are sometimes interchangeable, but fake implies an imitation of or substitution for the genuine but does not necessarily imply dishonesty.

these jewels are fakes; the real ones are in the vault

When is it sensible to use fraud instead of counterfeit?

In some situations, the words fraud and counterfeit are roughly equivalent. However, fraud usually implies a deliberate perversion of the truth.

the diary was exposed as a fraud

Where would humbug be a reasonable alternative to counterfeit?

The meanings of humbug and counterfeit largely overlap; however, humbug suggests elaborate pretense usually so flagrant as to be transparent.

creating publicity by foisting humbugs on a gullible public

When might imposture be a better fit than counterfeit?

The words imposture and counterfeit are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, imposture applies to any situation in which a spurious object or performance is passed off as genuine.

their claim of environmental concern is an imposture

When would sham be a good substitute for counterfeit?

The words sham and counterfeit can be used in similar contexts, but sham applies to fraudulent imitation of a real thing or action.

condemned the election as a sham

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of counterfeit
Adjective
Suddenly, there was a market for counterfeit whole coffee beans, made of pigeon beans and peas, or even wax and clay. Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 1 May 2025 Last month, federal agents seized 1,730 pounds of methamphetamine, 238 pounds of cocaine, 257 pounds of powdered fentanyl and about 360,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills from the home. Jasmine Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2025
Noun
Heidt noted that the logo placement on a counterfeit may look off or that the logo may have a bleed. Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 28 Nov. 2024 The 516 counterfeit watches emulated brands including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier and others. James Powel, USA Today, 8 May 2025
Verb
When he was arrested in November, Jackson was in a car with another person, where Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies also found a printer and counterfeit $2, $5, $10, $20 and $100 bills. Sharon Bernstein, Sacramento Bee, 14 Mar. 2025 Victoire uses her natural talent for counterfeiting to forge paper. Jamie Lang, Variety, 19 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for counterfeit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterfeit
Adjective
  • There is often no real path to recovery, especially when the recipient disappears behind a fake username and an unresponsive support system.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 17 June 2025
  • California law already bans wearing a mask or other disguise, including a fake mustache, wig or beard to hide your identity and evade law enforcement while committing a crime, but there are no current laws about what police can or cannot wear.
    Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2025
Adjective
  • After a crew chief review, it was ruled a double, giving the Mets a 7-4 lead.
    Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 22 June 2025
  • Scheffler managed to make birdie, but the damage to his round had already been done with a triple-bogey 7 on the first hole, another bogey on No. 4 and a double on No. 8.
    Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 21 June 2025
Noun
  • The hoax of further democratizing what was always implicitly democratic relies on sham logic.
    Armond White, National Review, 27 June 2025
  • The Balloon Boy hoax would seem to have all the right elements for a revisitation: a hapless, alleged victim (6-year-old Falcon Heene), sky-high danger (the balloon reached about 7,000 feet), daringly duplicitous parents (Richard and Mayumi Heene), and a national profile that gripped audiences.
    John Wenzel, Denver Post, 23 June 2025
Verb
  • True market leadership isn’t built during stable times—it’s forged through uncertainty.
    Padmakumar Nair, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
  • Yet when the Obama Administration managed to forge a nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Netanyahu denounced it as weak.
    David Remnick, New Yorker, 21 June 2025
Verb
  • Diversify vendors, build local backups and stop pretending just-in-time solutions work in a world that’s anything but stable.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
  • Let Lilian slow down and hesitate before issuing a greeting—Maureen would pretend to neither hear nor see her.
    Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 15 June 2025
Adjective
  • At a bond hearing in Chicago immigration court on Tuesday, Judge Carla Espinoza set Morales Reyes' bond at $7,500 after the court and Department of Homeland Security had time to review the evidence about the forged threatening letters.
    Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 10 June 2025
  • Her plea agreement includes admissions to submitting fraudulent escrow disbursement requests to the escrow company, one of which included a forged client signature, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
    City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 May 2025
Noun
  • Selling 95,000 copies of DESIRE: UNLEASH in the U.S., the boy band also scored a No. 3 debut on the Billboard 200, marking its eighth entry on the chart and its fifth top 10 album.
    Stephen Daw, Billboard, 23 June 2025
  • Luminate reports that during the most recent tracking period — which is when people learned of Wilson’s passing — the song sold just under 4,200 copies.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
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

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Cite this Entry

“Counterfeit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterfeit. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.

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