1
as in counterfeit
being such in appearance only and made or manufactured with the intention of committing fraud
arrested for peddling "designer" watches that were fake
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in synthetic
being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials
opposed to the unnecessary killing of animals, she'll consider wearing only fake furs
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3
as in mock
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality
the boss's pitiful attempts at humor were met with fake laughter
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4
as in double
not being or expressing what one appears to be or express
the fake friendliness of the sales rep made me want to gag
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1
as in hoax
an imitation that is passed off as genuine
experts declared that one of the museum's prized paintings was actually a fake
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2
as in fraud
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
a hidden-camera investigation revealed that the so-called psychic was a fake
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1
as in to counterfeit
to imitate or copy especially in order to deceive
pranksters faked giant footprints and then claimed that they had seen Bigfoot
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2
as in to pretend
to present a false appearance of
while running for class president, Dan was not above faking friendship with people just to get their votes
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3
as in to concoct
to perform, make, or do without preparation
if you give me the gist of the plan, I can probably fake enough for the speech
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4
as in to evade
to elude (an opponent in a sports contest) by making a deceptive or agile movement
the running back faked the defense by stepping to his left and then quickly cutting to the right
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as in deception
the inclination or practice of misleading others through lies or trickery
if the product were any good, the company wouldn't have to resort to fakery to get people to buy it
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fake
Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
Videos that are fake are believed to be real; videos that are real can easily be derided as fake.
—Andrew R. Chow, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 6 Sep. 2025
True stories are one way to differentiate the authentic from the fake.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2025
Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer, 5 Sep. 2025
As synthetic content grows more common, what can’t be faked grows more valuable.
—Rod Yancy, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2025
Anne Carson, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2025
The fakery made the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 significantly worse in Greece.
—Luciana Lopez, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fake
Adjective
Russia's Influence Operations in 2016, Russia conducted extensive campaigns during the presidential election, employing fake personas, troll farms, and manipulated content to inflame racial, ideological, and cultural divisions.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
Videos that are fake are believed to be real; videos that are real can easily be derided as fake.
—Andrew R. Chow, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
Noun
The Buffs bit on a zone-read fake on Delaware’s first drive as tailback Jo Silver opened the game by gashing CU for a 10-yard gain.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 6 Sep. 2025
True stories are one way to differentiate the authentic from the fake.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
Psychological testing indicated that Brown was trying to fake symptoms of mental illness, Sutton said.
—Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer, 5 Sep. 2025
As synthetic content grows more common, what can’t be faked grows more valuable.
—Rod Yancy, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
Fakery that is part of the story, and fakery added on by real life.
—Anne Carson, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2025
The fakery made the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 significantly worse in Greece.
—Luciana Lopez, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fake
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fake
Adjective
-
But because the signals are so faint, they can be drowned out by cheap jammers or replaced by counterfeit ones.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The constant threat of counterfeit goods must be faced when navigating the secondary market.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Meanwhile, newer synthetic drugs such as spice or bath salts may not be detected at all without specialized equipment.—
Andrew Yockey,
The Conversation,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The Yoga 9i 2-in-1 placed second in Cinebench and fourth in Geekbench, two synthetic benchmarks that test CPU performance.—
Mark Coppock,
PC Magazine,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Whose idea was this, and what kinds of settler-colonial relations does this mock holdup invert?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Sweater My grandmother also purchased this 100 percent cashmere mock-neck sweater to have on hand in case the weather requires an extra layer.—
Melony Forcier,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The addition of the Warlock-like floaty jump (sorry, there are just a lot of Destiny things) is very good, as is the base level double jump all characters have.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The patterns will suit any stripe preference, from the wider Pembroke in pine green and sandstone to the mini- and double-stripe options.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The global energy transition is forging ahead, fracturing old trade alliances and generating new forms of geopolitical leverage that all companies need to be more attuned to, JPMorgan believes.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
16 Sep. 2025
-
This début novel of Southern small-town life considers the hypocrisies forged in patriarchy’s crucible and the difficulty of reckoning with a father’s sins.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The study saw parents use actions to joke and pretend with kids aged 16 to 20 months old.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Scrolling on one’s phone can be a deadening experience, but here’s someone feeling, or at least pretending to feel, a genuine feeling—even if the abundance of these videos surely numbs us further.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Advertisement Advertisement Synthetic dyes are generally made from petroleum and concocted in labs.—
Alice Park,
Time,
15 Sep. 2025
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To solve this problem, materials scientists at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have concocted a new sunscreen recipe that spares the ocean’s vital microorganisms.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Rather than provide food or temporary shelter for such workers in the colder months, municipalities would round them up and remove them, to save money and evade any responsibility to aid them.—
Time,
Time,
16 Sep. 2025
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In Milwaukee, Kellner said that around 33% of bus riders have evaded paying fares in 2025 but that the agency has identified a few cost-neutral strategies targeted at reducing fare evasion down to 30% by September 2026, the same rate of evasion busses saw in 2024.—
Claudia Levens,
jsonline.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fake.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fake. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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