phony

adjective

pho·ny | \ ˈfō-nē

variants: or less commonly phoney

phonier; phoniest

Definition of phony

(Entry 1 of 4)

: not genuine or real: such as

a(1) : intended to deceive or mislead

(2) : intended to defraud : counterfeit

b : arousing suspicion : probably dishonest something phony about the story

c : having no basis in fact : fictitious phony publicity stories

d : false, sham a phony name

e : making a false show: such as

(1) : hypocritical

(2) : specious has a phony poetic elegance — New Republic

phony

noun

variants: or less commonly phoney

plural phonies also phoneys

Definition of phony (Entry 2 of 4)

: one that is phony

phony

verb

phonied; phonying

Definition of phony (Entry 3 of 4)

transitive verb

: counterfeit, fake —often used with up a paper phonied up on the spur of the moment— William Faulkner

-phony

noun combining form

variants: or less commonly -phonia

Definition of -phony (Entry 4 of 4)

1 : sound telephony

2 usually -phonia : speech disorder of a (specified) type dysphonia

Other Words from phony Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about phony

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Did You Know?

Adjective

It's the backstory of phony that deserves our attention. Phony (which dates from the early 1900s) is believed to be an alteration of the British fawney, the word for a gilded brass ring used in a confidence game called the "fawney rig." In this game, the trickster drops a ring (or a purse with some valuables in it) and runs to pick the item up at the same time as the poor sap who notices it on the ground. The trickster asserts that the found treasure should be split between them. The one who's "found" the item, convinced now of its value, chooses instead to give the con artist some money in order to keep the item, which is, of course, phony.

Examples of phony in a Sentence

Adjective

a phony watch with a designer logo she always has this phony smile just before she betrays you

Noun

According to him, politics is full of phonies. I don't think she ever meant to help us. What a phony!

Verb

the terrorists were able to move around the country using phonied driver's licenses

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Meanwhile, phony conservative accounts — @Amconvoice, @JohnCopper16, and @CovfefeNationUS (really) — would attack Democrats. — Andrew Prokop, Vox, "Justice Department charges Russian national with conspiring to interfere with 2018 midterms," 19 Oct. 2018 Now, this includes using the phony Clinton bought and paid for dossier to go after the former Trump campaign chairman. — Fox News, "Hannity: President Trump takes bold action on the border," 3 Apr. 2018 In the election's immediate aftermath, another study found 27 percent of voters consumed news engineered by phony, partisan websites that drew a majority of clicks from social media. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "If the 2018 Election Is Hacked, This Is How It Will Happen," 5 Nov. 2018 So we are left with this phony shutdown war in which the extremes of both parties set the agenda to no good result. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "The Phony Shutdown War," 23 Dec. 2018 Nicol has a ridiculously evil ex-boyfriend lurking around, but the movie isn’t about forcing a phony confrontation between him and Mark. — Jesse Hassenger, The Verge, "Welcome to Marwen is Robert Zemeckis’ most revealing movie — and his worst," 20 Dec. 2018 In 1992, the Trump children created a phony company, All County Building Supply & Maintenance, to pad the cost of their father’s building purchases. — Rachel Withers, Vox, "Tenants today are reportedly still paying for a Trump family tax scheme from the 1990s," 15 Dec. 2018 Through Unsecure Forms of Payment Scammers frequently demand money in the form of prepaid debit cards, gift cards, or wire transfers to a phony account routing number. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "Scary Utility Scams Are Spreading Across the Country," 16 Nov. 2018 President Trump has piled on with sanctions to get the return of an American pastor held in Turkey on phony charges. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Culling the Emerging-Market Herd," 13 Sep. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Meghan Markle is a little phony for that fake British accent coming through. — Kathleen Joyce, Fox News, "Meghan Markle appears to adopt British accent in new video," 2 Oct. 2018 Trump on the campaign trail called the unemployment rate phony, so these claims are flip-flops. — Salvador Rizzo, Washington Post, "Anatomy of a Trump rally: 76 percent of claims are false, misleading or lacking evidence," 10 July 2018 But the slippers reported to have been in the collector's mansion were phonies, and divers found nothing at the... — Kristine Phillips, The Seattle Times, "No place like the rightful home: Stolen ruby slippers from ‘Wizard of Oz’ recovered by FBI," 4 Sep. 2018 Bothell investigators found Mylett’s accuser had gone so far as to create phony, backdated email exchanges that contained the address of a Bothell rental home where Mylett temporarily lived. — Lewis Kamb, The Seattle Times, "‘I wouldn’t wish this upon anybody’: Bellevue police chief moving ahead after investigation clears him of woman’s rape accusations," 23 Oct. 2018 Leland, meanwhile, fancies himself a kind of Holden Caulfield type, too smart for this life, able to see the phonies in a world of hypocrisy. — New York Times, "This Novel Opens With a Suicide and a Suitcase of Cash. Then Things Get Really Interesting.," 21 June 2018 Facebook in December offered a bold solution for its worsening scourge of fake accounts: New facial-recognition technology to spot when a phony profile tries to use someone else's photos. — The Washington Post, OregonLive.com, "Facebook's crackdown on fake accounts isn't working for everyone," 5 May 2018 Facebook in December offered a bold solution for its worsening scourge of fake accounts: New facial-recognition technology to spot when a phony profile tries to use someone else's photos. — The Washington Post, OregonLive.com, "Facebook's crackdown on fake accounts isn't working for everyone," 5 May 2018 Meghan Markle is a little phony for that fake British accent coming through. — Kathleen Joyce, Fox News, "Meghan Markle appears to adopt British accent in new video," 7 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

In fact, legislators and regulators are rolling back regulations designed to protect investors, who in this case are estimated to have lost $100 billion to phony Chinese firms. — Gary Thompson, Philly.com, "'China Hustle': Skippack businessman exposes stock fraud in new documentary," 29 Mar. 2018

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

History and Etymology for phony

Adjective

perhaps alteration of fawney gilded brass ring used in the fawney rig, a confidence game, from Irish fáinne ring, from Old Irish ánne — more at anus

Noun combining form

Latin -phonia, from Greek -phōnia, from -phōnos sounding — more at -phone

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