counterfeit
adjective
\
Definition of counterfeit
(Entry 1 of 3)
counterfeit
verbDefinition of counterfeit (Entry 2 of 3)
: to imitate or feign especially with intent to deceive also : to make a fraudulent replica of counterfeiting $20 bills
1 : to try to deceive by pretense or dissembling
2 : to engage in counterfeiting something of value
counterfeit
nounDefinition of counterfeit (Entry 3 of 3)
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
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Synonyms & Antonyms for counterfeit
Synonyms: Adjective
bogus, fake, false, forged, inauthentic, phony (also phoney), queer, sham, snide, spurious, unauthentic
Synonyms: Verb
Synonyms: Noun
fake, forgery, hoax, humbug, phony (also phoney), sham
Antonyms: Adjective
authentic, bona fide, genuine, real, unfaked
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Examples of counterfeit in a Sentence
Adjective
The concert ticket is counterfeit. counterfeit currency that had been passed all over townVerb
They were counterfeiting money in his garage. an expert at counterfeiting moneyNoun
the will as well as the other documents turned out to be counterfeits
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Forgery John Dansby, 19, of the 900 block of North York Street, Elmhurst, was charged with one felony count of forgery after presenting a counterfeit $100 bill at Dunkin’ Donuts, 936 N. York St. at 7:05 p.m. June 21. — Graydon Megan, chicagotribune.com, "Police: Woman facing charges after police respond to child playing in the street, and finding her asleep inside," 29 June 2018 Ali hardly attempted to conceal his counterfeit business, and went so far as to provide promotional material for a Christmas gift guide to the Albuquerque Journal in 2012. — Alexandra Mondalek, Vox, "Fake turquoise jewelry is hurting Native Americans economically," 24 Oct. 2018 In addition to this problem, Amazon has had to battle fake reviews and counterfeit merchandise on its platform. — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, "Amazon looking into claims that employees delete bad reviews for cash," 17 Sep. 2018 Its digital shelves have been flooded with counterfeit products. — Brian Barrett, WIRED, "Is Amazon Prime Still Worth It?," 11 May 2018 Among the counterfeit products were those purported to be by Urban Decay and Kylie Cosmetics, both of which have seen rampant knockoffs. — Marci Robin, Allure, "Los Angeles Police Seized Counterfeit Cosmetics Containing Animal Feces," 16 Apr. 2018 The counterfeit products were uncovered in a raid of 21 stores in the city's Fashion District, notes Los Angeles television station KABC. — Chris Stirewalt, Fox News, "Independents cool on Democratic Congress," 16 Apr. 2018 The counterfeit products were uncovered in a raid of 21 stores in the city's Fashion District, notes Los Angeles television station KABC. — Sean Rossman, USA TODAY, "Bootleg makeup contained animal feces, human waste, Los Angeles police say," 14 Apr. 2018 The case was initiated by Investigative Consultants, a private investigation firm in Torrance that helps companies detect counterfeit products being sold under brand names. — Kristina Davis, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Border Patrol agent gets probation in counterfeit watch case," 15 Mar. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Such violations, from counterfeiting famous brands and stealing trade secrets to pressuring companies to share technology with Chinese companies to gain access to China’s vast market, have long angered China’s overseas competitors. — Bloomberg.com, "What’s Intellectual Property and Does China Steal It?," 22 Mar. 2018 It is known in the West for counterfeiting money, human rights horrors, cyberattacks and crazy-sounding threats. — Bob Drogin, latimes.com, "Here's what you need to know about the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore," 10 June 2018 Eight states—Alaska, Arizona, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas—have their own laws governing the sale of fake and counterfeited Native American objects. — Daniel Grant, WSJ, "What You Need to Know About Buying Native-American Art," 8 June 2018 AP Burberry is firing legal charges at Target for allegedly counterfeiting its iconic check plaid pattern and confusing consumers in a multi-million dollar fashion knockoff sales campaign. — Kevin Mccoy, USA TODAY, "Burberry lawsuit accuses Target of copying its iconic check plaid pattern," 11 May 2018 Why does counterfeit money represent a threat to the nation? — Dave Barry, miamiherald, "Classic '98: Funny money," 3 June 2018 So Wun Pak appeared in Johnson County District Court Thursday and pleaded no contest to the felony charge of counterfeiting merchandise worth from $1,000 to $25,000. — Tony Rizzo, kansascity, "Prada, Kate Spade goods in Mission store were fake; owner convicted," 31 May 2018 And Pokora had gradually become enmeshed in a series of schemes that would have alarmed his younger self: infiltrating game developers’ networks, counterfeiting an Xbox prototype, even abetting a burglary on Microsoft’s main campus. — Brendan I. Koerner, WIRED, "The Young and the Reckless," 17 Apr. 2018 But new credit cards have converted to chip cards that are harder to counterfeit. — Danny Hakim, New York Times, "Signing Off on Signing Credit-Card Receipts," 14 Apr. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Alcohol makers or their distributors are typically required to have the labels of their products approved by local authorities, to help track sales or recalls, and to keep counterfeits or knockoffs from the market. — BostonGlobe.com, "Baker signs bill authorizing $1.8b in program funding," 1 June 2018 Earlier this year, researchers documented several underground services that sold counterfeit signing credentials that are unique to each buyer. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, "Stolen certificates from D-Link used to sign password-stealing malware," 10 July 2018 My currency was no good with them, counterfeit from the start. — Christine Sneed, New York Times, "She’s Here, She’s Queer, She’s Figuring Out What That Means," 11 Apr. 2018 Washington's charity, The Sixth Man Foundation, while operating as Project Contact Africa, used eBay and a PayPal account to facilitate more than $12 million in payments for items that included counterfeit software. — Aaron Randle, kansascity, "Former NBA player sentenced in Kansas City to federal prison for fraud, identity theft," 9 July 2018 The items, which ICE finished tallying on Tuesday, constituted the biggest counterfeit seizure for ICE’s Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) in the area. — Matt Richardson, Fox News, "ICE says it seized $43M worth of counterfeit items in Laredo, Texas," 6 July 2018 Cobb County police found several counterfeit items inside the home located in the 2500 block of Gordon Circle. — Raisa Habersham, ajc, "Man charged after fake money, IDs, credits cards found in Cobb home," 25 May 2018 It was discovered the $100 bill was counterfeit and appeared to have three different counterfeit pieces taped together. — Karen Pilarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Wauwatosa police report: Tires and rims stolen off four cars in the same parking structure," 17 Jan. 2018 Official reports of counterfeits are few compared with total sales, which exceed $1 billion a year, according to the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior. — Daniel Grant, WSJ, "What You Need to Know About Buying Native-American Art," 8 June 2018These 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.
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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
11 Obscure Words for Thieves
11 Obscure Words for Thieves
Yeggs, jackrollers, footpads, and more
Dictionary Entries near counterfeit
Statistics for counterfeit
Last Updated
5 Dec 2018
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for counterfeit
The first known use of counterfeit was in the 14th century
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More Definitions for counterfeit
counterfeit
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of counterfeit
(Entry 1 of 3)
: made to look like an exact copy of something in order to trick people
counterfeit
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of counterfeit (Entry 2 of 3)
: to make an exact copy of (something) in order to trick people
counterfeit
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of counterfeit (Entry 3 of 3)
: something that is made to look like an exact copy of something else in order to trick people
See the full definition for counterfeit in the English Language Learners Dictionary
counterfeit
adjective
\
Kids Definition of counterfeit
(Entry 1 of 3)
1 : made in exact imitation of something genuine and meant to be taken as genuine counterfeit money
2 : not sincere counterfeit sympathy
counterfeit
verbKids Definition of counterfeit (Entry 2 of 3)
1 : to imitate or copy especially in order to deceive Modern money is difficult to counterfeit.
2 : pretend sense 2 She tried to counterfeit enthusiasm.
counterfeit
nounKids Definition of counterfeit (Entry 3 of 3)
: something made to imitate another thing with the desire to deceive The 100 dollar bill turned out to be a counterfeit.
counterfeit
adjective
\
Legal Definition of counterfeit
(Entry 1 of 3)
: made in imitation of a genuine article (as a document) without authorization and especially with intent to deceive or defraud
counterfeit
transitive verbLegal Definition of counterfeit (Entry 2 of 3)
: 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
counterfeit
nounLegal Definition of counterfeit (Entry 3 of 3)
: something counterfeit all counterfeits of any coins or obligations — U.S. Code — compare forgery
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