counterfeit

adjective coun·ter·feit \ ˈkau̇n-tər-ˌfit \

Definition of counterfeit

1 :made in imitation of something else with intent to deceive :forged

counterfeit money

a counterfeit diamond

2 a :insincere, feigned

counterfeit sympathy

counterfeit joy at her friend's engagement

b :imitation

counterfeit Georgian houses

See counterfeit defined for English-language learners

Examples of counterfeit in a Sentence

The concert ticket is counterfeit.
counterfeit currency that had been passed all over town

Recent Examples of counterfeit from the Web

But scores of other counterfeit items make it into the world economy without any of us consumers knowing it: phones, pharmaceuticals, clothes, car parts, circuit breakers.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "Breaking Into China’s Counterfeit Supply Chains," 24 Aug. 2017
Counterfeiting Two different women reportedly made purchases in downtown Northbrook Aug. 11 and 12 with counterfeit $100 bills.

— irv leavitt, chicagotribune.com, "Northbrook police: Theft call may have been distraction attempt," 21 Aug. 2017
Robert Erie, former CEO and co-founder of the defunct E-Word Recyclers, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods at a hearing in San Diego federal court on Feb. 23.

— david hernandez, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Man sentenced to prison for trafficking in counterfeit goods," 21 Aug. 2017
Police said after paying with counterfeit money, the victim attempted to run to a car with the pistol.

— ashley remkus, AL.com, "Man shot by employee at Huntsville car lot after buying pistol with fake money, police say," 15 Aug. 2017
Mexico Secretary of Tourism Details of a broader government crackdown on counterfeit alcohol are expected next month.

— lisa gutierrez, kansascity, "10,000 gallons of tainted booze seized from Mexico resorts amid warnings for tourists," 14 Aug. 2017
Brands that have been certified as meeting that standard typically say so on the label, though some counterfeit brands are labeled with similar claims.

— tom avril, Philly.com, "How to look at the eclipse without burning your eyes," 11 Aug. 2017
Thousands of people showed up with counterfeit tickets, turning a dreamy day into Walt’s worst nightmare.

— yohana desta, HWD, "Remembering Disneyland’s “Wild” Opening Day in 1955," 28 July 2017
Federal authorities noted that counterfeit Percocet, which contained fentanyl and another synthetic drug, was responsible for a cluster overdoses in three middle Georgia counties and in Dougherty County in southwest Georgia in June.

— ajc homepage, ajc, "Roswell woman charged with selling counterfeit opioids," 18 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'counterfeit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of counterfeit

Middle English countrefet, from Anglo-French cuntrefeit, from past participle of cuntrefere, contrefaire to imitate, from cuntre- + faire to make, from Latin facere — more at do

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

counterfeit Synonyms

Synonyms

bogus, fake, false, forged, inauthentic, phony (also phoney), queer, sham, snide, spurious, unauthentic

Antonyms

authentic, bona fide, genuine, real, unfaked

Related Words

artificial, factitious, imitation, man-made, mimic, mock, simulated, substitute, synthetic; dummy, nonfunctioning, ornamental; cultured, fabricated, manufactured; deceptive, delusive, misleading

Near Antonyms

natural; actual, true, valid

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

counterfeit

verb

Definition of counterfeit

transitive verb

:to imitate or feign especially with intent to deceive; also :to make a fraudulent replica of

counterfeiting $20 bills

intransitive verb

1 :to try to deceive by pretense or dissembling

2 :to engage in counterfeiting something of value

—

counterfeiter

noun

See counterfeit defined for English-language learners

See counterfeit defined for kids

Examples of counterfeit in a Sentence

They were counterfeiting money in his garage.
an expert at counterfeiting money

Recent Examples of counterfeit from the Web

To counterfeit that purity would be the purest form of corruption.

— wyatt mason, Esquire, "A Comprehensive Look Back at the Brilliance That Is Shawn Carter," 7 June 2017
A unique code is created each time the card is used to prevent the card from being counterfeited, as can happen with cards containing a magnetic strip.

— john sowell, idahostatesman, "You’ve got a chip card. But if your store makes you swipe it, you’re still at risk.," 5 June 2017
Not counterfeit money or messages making fun or bullying a peer, but notes used in Wednesday’s attempted robbery of a Dania Beach Walgreens caught on video.

— david j. neal, miamiherald, "Suspect arrested in attempted drug robbery-by-note caught on video," 4 June 2017
Matthew Walters, 42, of Huntington Beach, and Phillip Gordon, , 27, of Orange were arrested on suspicion of possession of a loaded firearm and counterfeit money and Walters also was held on a probation violation, the release stated.

— gail wesson, Orange County Register, "Three arrested in connection with Norco counterfeit currency investigation," 30 May 2017
Some of the forums state specifically that almost any type of criminality is allowed — bank fraud, counterfeiting documents, weapons sales.

— michael schwirtz and joseph goldstein, New York Times, "Russian Espionage Piggybacks on a Cybercriminal’s Hacking," 12 Mar. 2017

Origin and Etymology of counterfeit

see ¹counterfeit

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

counterfeit Synonyms

Synonyms

fake, forge, phony

Related Words

simulate; duplicate, reduplicate, replicate, reproduce; crib, plagiarize; adulterate, doctor, fudge, juggle, manipulate, tamper (with); concoct, cook (up), fabricate, invent

Synonym Discussion of counterfeit

assume, affect, pretend, simulate, feign, counterfeit, sham mean to put on a false or deceptive appearance. assume often implies a justifiable motive rather than an intent to deceive.

- assumed an air of cheerfulness around the patients

affect implies making a false show of possessing, using, or feeling.

- affected an interest in art

pretend implies an overt and sustained false appearance.

- pretended that nothing had happened

simulate suggests a close imitation of the appearance of something.

- cosmetics that simulate a suntan

feign implies more artful invention than pretend, less specific mimicry than simulate.

- feigned sickness

counterfeit implies achieving the highest degree of verisimilitude of any of these words.

- an actor counterfeiting drunkenness

sham implies an obvious falseness that fools only the gullible.

- shammed a most unconvincing limp

counterfeit

noun

Definition of counterfeit

1 :something counterfeit :forgery

The $20 bill turned out to be a counterfeit.

2 :something likely to be mistaken for something of higher value

Pity was a counterfeit of love …
—Harry Hervey

See counterfeit defined for English-language learners

Examples of counterfeit in a Sentence

the will as well as the other documents turned out to be counterfeits

Recent Examples of counterfeit from the Web

The Wall Street Journal this week reported that in exchange for selling directly on Amazon.com, Nike won concessions from the online retailer to more strictly police counterfeits and restrict unsanctioned sales.

— phil wahba, Fortune, "Nike Makes It Official: It Will Sell on Amazon and Instagram," 30 June 2017
After opening the accounts, Moore and Lichnock-Gembe used used them to deposit stolen, counterfeit and altered checks.

— cathy locke, sacbee.com, "Mail thief’s victims numbered more than 700. Now she’s headed to prison.," 22 June 2017
The design looks like a counterfeit iPhone, the camera isn't great, and OnePlus' future upgrade support is questionable.

— ron amadeo, Ars Technica, "OnePlus 5 review—The best sub-$500 phone you can buy," 20 June 2017
A man reportedly used counterfeit money to purchase items from Walgreen's, 3 E. Golf Road, on June 10.

— elizabeth owens-schiele, chicagotribune.com, "Arlington Heights police: Ford Escape stolen from parking garage at Northwest Community Hospital," 20 June 2017
The distribution channels for counterfeit and potentially dangerous items are often the same, said Secretary of State Elaine Marshall in a statement Thursday.

— anna douglas, charlotteobserver, "Gucci belts, Lacoste shirts: An NC flea market sold them, but agents say they were fake," 15 June 2017
Mitchell was then introduced to an undercover officer who purchased counterfeit bills from him.

— paula mcmahon, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Rapper Brisco gets prison term for selling fake cash, ID theft and fraud," 31 May 2017
Among the charges filed against them are conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud; money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering; and the use of counterfeit and forged checks, according to the indictment.

— bill bird, Naperville Sun, "Naperville woman indicted in financial scam; Benedictine University a victim," 25 May 2017
Feb. 9, 2003: Deported to Mexico at the San Ysidro Port of Entry based on an expedited removal order after Banda attempted to illegally enter the U.S. using counterfeit documents. •

— kristina davis, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Immigration records detail DUI crash suspect’s many deportations," 24 May 2017

Origin and Etymology of counterfeit

see ¹counterfeit

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

counterfeit Synonyms

Synonyms

fake, forgery, hoax, humbug, phony (also phoney), sham

Related Words

copycat, knockoff; copy, facsimile, replica, reproduction; dummy, mock-up; fraud, gaff, imposture, spoof, swindle; simulation, synthetic; bastard, brummagem, duffer, shoddy

Near Antonyms

original

Synonym Discussion of counterfeit

imposture, fraud, sham, fake, humbug, counterfeit mean a thing made to seem other than it is. 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

fraud usually implies a deliberate perversion of the truth.

- the diary was exposed as a fraud

sham applies to fraudulent imitation of a real thing or action.

- condemned the election as a sham

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

humbug suggests elaborate pretense usually so flagrant as to be transparent.

- creating publicity by foisting humbugs on a gullible public

counterfeit applies especially to the close imitation of something valuable.

- 20-dollar bills that were counterfeits

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

COUNTERFEIT Defined for English Language Learners

counterfeit

adjective

Definition of counterfeit for English Language Learners

: made to look like an exact copy of something in order to trick people

counterfeit

verb

Definition of counterfeit for English Language Learners

: to make an exact copy of (something) in order to trick people

counterfeit

noun

Definition of counterfeit for English Language Learners

: something that is made to look like an exact copy of something else in order to trick people

COUNTERFEIT Defined for Kids

counterfeit

adjective coun·ter·feit \ ˈkau̇n-tər-ˌfit \

Definition of counterfeit for Students

1 :made in exact imitation of something genuine and meant to be taken as genuine

counterfeit money

2 :not sincere

counterfeit sympathy

counterfeit

verb

Definition of counterfeit for Students

counterfeited; counterfeiting

1 :to imitate or copy especially in order to deceive

Modern money is difficult to counterfeit.

2 :pretend 2

She tried to counterfeit enthusiasm.

—

counterfeiter

noun

counterfeit

noun

Definition of counterfeit for Students

:something made to imitate another thing with the desire to deceive

The 100 dollar bill turned out to be a counterfeit.

Law Dictionary

counterfeit

adjective coun·ter·feit \ ˈkau̇n-tər-ˌfit \

legal Definition of counterfeit

:made in imitation of a genuine article (as a document) without authorization and especially with intent to deceive or defraud

Origin and Etymology of counterfeit

Middle French contrefait, past participle of contrefaire to imitate, draw, paint, from contre- counter- + faire to make

counterfeit

transitive verb

legal Definition of counterfeit

:to make an imitation of without authorization and especially with intent to deceive or defraud

whoever falsely makes, alters, forges, or counterfeits any deed
—U.S. Code

—

counterfeiter

noun

counterfeit

noun

legal Definition of counterfeit

:something counterfeit

all counterfeits of any coins or obligations
—U.S. Code

— compare forgery

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counterfeit

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counterfeit

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counterfeit

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counterfeit

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counterfeit

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counterfeit

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