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

Stop making up phony absolutes and judge people as individuals. — Bruce Jenkins, SFChronicle.com, "The Giants are fun again, and that’s half the battle," 5 July 2019 Although many rightfully consider influencers to be phony, they’re deemed more authentic and relatable than the traditional advertising model. — Tatum Dooley, Teen Vogue, "Skincare Line SK-II Announces AI Spokesperson Named YUMI," 27 June 2019 Its past problems include a federal investigation into a phony jobs program run by a WorkSource contractor and two scathing reviews of the agency. — Christopher Quinn, ajc, "Atlanta’s troubled jobs agency seeks changes," 25 June 2019 Consider the phony memo circulated about the Broadcom-CA Technologies acquisition; it was plainly timed for a moment when investors would be most attentive. — Matthew F. Ferraro For Cnn Business Perspectives, CNN, "Disinformation is harming businesses. Here are 6 ways to fight it," 10 June 2019 YouTube said the policy, which affects videos including flat-earthers and peddlers of phony miracle cures, had already decreased the number of views that borderline videos receive by 50 percent. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "YouTube just banned supremacist content, and thousands of channels are about to be removed," 5 June 2019 Initially, they were charged with paying $500,000 to a phony charity so that their daughters – Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose — could pose as crew recruits and get into the University of Southern California. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "'Full House' Star John Stamos Posts Cryptic Instagram of Lori Loughlin Amid College Scandal," 13 May 2019 Two men on the plane were flying with phony passports, but one was apparently an asylum seeker, and neither had terrorism links. — Author: Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Anchorage Daily News, "Experts think they’ve finally solved a big mystery of the doomed Malaysia Airlines flight," 15 May 2018 To make things worse, the accusations within this phony attack received national attention for weeks. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "The Smollett Hoaxers," 21 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Her phony stunt served no purpose but to feed her political ambitions. — David Hernandez, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Fired Chula Vista senior council aide files claim against the city," 28 June 2019 Putting up a false front to impress someone could likely come off as phony, which could ultimately have a negative impact. — Tribune Content Agency, oregonlive.com, "Horoscope for June 27, 2019: Capriocorn, let someone else grab the reins; Libra, stay in the neutral zone," 27 June 2019 The latter group includes professional politicians, entrenched bureaucrats, condescending academics, corporate phonies, and propagandistic journalists. — Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, "Why Are the Western Middle Classes So Angry?," 13 June 2019 The latter group includes professional politicians, entrenched bureaucrats, condescending academics, corporate phonies and propagandistic journalists. — Victor Davis Hanson, The Mercury News, "Hanson: Why are Western middle classes revolting against the elites?," 13 June 2019 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

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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