fake

adjective

ˈfāk 

faker; fakest

: not true, real, or genuine : counterfeit, sham

He was wearing a fake mustache.

She held up the bowl to the window light and smiled her fakest smile yet …

—Lee Durkee

From the well-known to the unknown, fake news, misinformation and hate rhetoric are causing harm to many individuals.

—Dolar Popat

Synonyms of fake

• counterfeit
• false
• forged

Examples of fake in a Sentence

That blood is clearly fake.

He was wearing a fake mustache.

Recent Examples on the Web

In the Gables, Parking Director Monica Beltran and her team of parking enforcers are on the watch for fake and altered disability permits. —Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 8 June 2026

Tatis broke for second on a steal attempt, which drew a fake throw from Luis Torrens. —CBS News, 7 June 2026

Starting as early as April, fraud operations can post fake rentals on platforms such as Airbnb, Vrbo, Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 June 2026

The tanning ritual doesn’t actually stop there, though, as moisturizing is the key to a long-lasting fake glow. —Deanna Pai, Glamour, 6 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

derivative of fake entry 2

Note: Not recorded as an adjective before 1879. The supposed use by the British general Richard Howe in a dispatch from Boston to the Secretary of State dated December 3, 1775 ("So many artifices have been practiced upon Strangers under the appearance of Friendship, fake Pilots &c."; Report Concerning Canadian Archives for the Year 1904, Ottawa, 1905, p. 355) is most likely a misreading (perhaps for faux or false?).

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing fake

• fake it
• fake out
• pump fake
• up-fake

Rhymes for fake

• ache
• ake
• bake
• brake
• break
• cake
• craik
• crake
• flake
• hake
• jake
• lake

Kids Definition

fake

1 of 3 adjective

ˈfāk 

: not genuine : phony

fake

2 of 3 noun

1

: an imitation that is passed off as genuine : counterfeit

2

: impostor

a medical fake

fake

3 of 3 verb

faked; faking

1

: to change or treat so as to make false

faked the results

2

: counterfeit entry 1 sense 1

fake a rare first edition

3

: pretend entry 1 sense 1, simulate

fake surprise

faker noun

fakery

ˈfā-k(ə-)rē

noun