variants
or less commonly phoney
phonier; phoniest
: 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
phonied; phonying
: counterfeit, fake
—often used with up
a paper phonied up on the spur of the moment—
William Faulkner
William Faulkner
variants
or less commonly -phonia
1
: sound
telephony
2
usually -phonia
: speech disorder of a (specified) type
dysphonia
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
Debbie Day, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Oct. 2025
The complacent faces of phony mediums swirl in my head, along with unsettling spirit photographs and images of puppies that had died with a sudden yelp for no apparent reason.
—Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 24 Sep. 2025
New Yorkers have always known exactly who Donald Trump is: a morally bankrupt phony who, despite his money and power, can’t even buy the respect of his home town.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2024
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, 29 Mar. 2018
See All Example Sentences for phony
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Adjective
She's now got the big phony tits and everything.
—Debbie Day, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Oct. 2025
The complacent faces of phony mediums swirl in my head, along with unsettling spirit photographs and images of puppies that had died with a sudden yelp for no apparent reason.
—Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
Noun
Infiniti is asked to play the put-upon daughter of a man-child father, a scared child, a phony among true believers, and eventually, a reluctant killer.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 24 Sep. 2025
New Yorkers have always known exactly who Donald Trump is: a morally bankrupt phony who, despite his money and power, can’t even buy the respect of his home town.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
What constitutes the crime is to phony up business accounting records to disguise the payments.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2024
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, 29 Mar. 2018
See All Example Sentences for phony
Cite this Entry
“Phony.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phony. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
phony
1 of 2 adjective
pho·ny
variants
also phoney
phonier; phoniest
: not genuine or real: as
a(1)
: intended to deceive or mislead
(2)
: counterfeit entry 2 sense 1
a phony $10 bill
b
: causing suspicion : probably dishonest
sounds like a phony excuse to me
c
: fictitious, false
gave a phony name to the police
phoniness
noun
phony
2 of 2 noun
variants
also phoney
plural phonies also phoneys
: a phony person or thing
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