forgery

noun forg·ery \ ˈfȯrj-rē , ˈfȯr-jə- \

Definition of forgery

plural forgeries

1 archaic :invention

2 :something forged

3 :an act of forging; especially :the crime of falsely and fraudulently making or altering a document (such as a check)

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Examples of forgery in a Sentence

that is a cheap forgery, not an authentic Ming Dynasty vase

Recent Examples of forgery from the Web

Many of the works – even the forgeries that were part of the small show – were quite remarkable.

— david lyman, Cincinnati.com, "A day at the museum: Hypnotic and mesmerizing," 18 Aug. 2017
Byrns faces felony theft and forgery charges in Louisiana related to allegations of impropriety during his tenure managing a hospital in that state.

— bryan lowry, kansascity, "Hospital company disputes Missouri audit that alleges $90 million billing scheme," 10 Aug. 2017
Prosecutors decided in June to charge her with forgery, after school principal Sally Rozanski said Spring signed her name on checks without permission.

— scott travis, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Employees accused of stealing from 3 Palm Beach County schools; officials eye reforms," 18 July 2017
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office charged each of them with one count of forgery, grand theft auto and identity theft.

— andy nguyen, Glendale News-Press, "Couple arrested in Glendale for alleged grand theft auto," 14 July 2017
But incinerating abandoned houses — this was an altogether different kind of offense from burglary and forgery.

— jennifer senior, New York Times, "An Arsonist and His Femme Fatale Fiancée in ‘American Fire’," 12 July 2017
The forgery Schawinski posted on Twitter was the work of a generative adversarial network, a kind of machine-learning model that pits two dueling neural networks against each other.

— science news staff, Science | AAAS, "AI is changing how we do science. Get a glimpse," 5 July 2017
The El Nuevo and Channel 23 reports revealed many cases of electoral fraud and forgery, conflicts of interest, mismanagement, and rigged bidding systems at a number of condo associations in South Florida.

— by gary m. mars, miamiherald, "Condo fraud legislation adds teeth to Florida’s laws," 2 July 2017
BROOK PARK, Ohio -- City Council President Jim Astorino introduced four draft ordinances during the June 27 caucus that raised questions and elicited accusations of forgery from Mayor Tom Coyne.

— beth mlady, cleveland.com, "Questionable law department stamp on Brook Park council documents leads mayor to claim 'forgery'," 30 June 2017

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

First Known Use of forgery

1583

forgery Synonyms

Synonyms

counterfeit, fake, 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

Other Legal Terms

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

FORGERY Defined for English Language Learners

forgery

noun

Definition of forgery for English Language Learners

: the crime of falsely making or copying a document in order to deceive people
: something that is falsely made or copied in order to deceive people : something that is forged