Did you know?
Bogus Has a Long History
In the early 19th century, a "bogus" was a machine used to make counterfeit coins. No one knows for sure how this coin-copying contraption got its name, but before long bogus became a name for funny money or for a fraudulent imitation of any kind. The more common "phony" adjective followed.
Synonyms
Examples of bogus in a Sentence
Richard Forno, The Conversation, 19 July 2024
Smartmatic and Dominion separately alleged the hosts perpetuated lies and disinformation about their voting machines, despite the fact that Fox executives and on-air talent recognized that such theories were bogus.
—Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2024
What the judges are counting on is not their ability to impose different rules on different presidents, enabling Trump to jail his political opponents on bogus grounds, for example, while forcing Joe Biden to hew to the old constitutional ways.
—Francis Wilkinson, The Mercury News, 16 July 2024
Multiple cities in Texas recently warned residents that fraudulent websites appear at the top of Google searches about parking payments, resulting in people downloading bogus apps.
—Jason Clayworth, Axios, 16 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for bogus 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bogus.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near bogus
Cite this Entry
“Bogus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bogus. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bogus
adjective
Share