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

His number of followers hemorrhaged, presumably because Instagram purged many of the phony accounts. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "Facebook’s morale problem is getting worse," 6 Dec. 2018 So to increase their chances, the workers submitted multiple copies of their phony letters. — Emily Dabau, Good Housekeeping, "3 Postal Workers Accused of Posing as Needy Kids to Steal From Charity," 18 June 2015 After all, Tesla had embraced skeuomorphic phony grilles on the models S and X since those larger rides would've looked too bizarre without them. — Andrew Moseman, Popular Mechanics, "The 10 Hardest Things To Get Used to on the Tesla Model 3," 10 Oct. 2018 The video drew outrage before its phony origins had been confirmed—though major regulators like the NHTSA did not weigh in on whether such a feature would run afoul of official regulations on cars sold in the United States. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Elon Musk to video game devs: Help me put “super fun games” on Tesla screens," 1 Aug. 2018 How does that make -- how does that make the intel community look good when Brennan is on tv speculating that one of our adversaries has information on him when that dossier has been debunked and phony and paid for by Hillary Clinton? — Fox News, "New data reveals US faces legal immigration crisis," 22 May 2018 His many allies in the artistic community contend that the charges are phony and politically motivated, likely in response to Serebrennikov’s criticism of Russia for annexing Crimea in 2014, as well as his support of Russia’s LGBT community. — Justin Chang, latimes.com, "Day 3: Russian drama takes the stage at Cannes in the sweet 'Leto' and the scathing 'Donbass'," 11 May 2018 As a result the Osbornes, who cowrote all 10 songs with others, never sound forced or phony. — Philly.com, "Album reviews: Post Malone, Sting and Shaggy and the Brothers Osbourne," 3 May 2018 Fresenius claims Akorn officials sought to cover up that rogue employees falsified test results and the company's executives submitted the phony findings in three FDA drug applications. — Jef Feeley, chicagotribune.com, "Akorn's lax computer security linked to deal cancellation," 10 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

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 Movie-wise, the structure is an obvious digital phony, although the effects artists do a much better job on Sawyer’s amputated leg, which looks convincingly real, and adds a touch of vulnerability to the famously able-bodied Johnson. — Gary Thompson, Philly.com, "The Rock's towering presence fails to elevate 'Skyscraper'," 11 July 2018 Those traits manifested themselves once more in his searing denunciations of Donald Trump as a phony. — Adam Bernstein, BostonGlobe.com, "Charles Krauthammer, Pulitzer-winning columnist and intellectual provocateur, dies at 68," 21 June 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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