1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

fake 1 of 4

adjective

ˈfāk How to pronounce fake (audio)
Definition of fakenext
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

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in mock
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality the boss's pitiful attempts at humor were met with fake laughter

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

fake

2 of 4

noun (1)

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

fake

3 of 4

verb

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

Synonyms & Similar Words
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

Synonyms & Similar Words
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

fakery

4 of 4

noun (2)

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word fake different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of fake are counterfeit, fraud, humbug, imposture, and sham. While all these words mean "a thing made to seem other than it is," fake implies an imitation of or substitution for the genuine but does not necessarily imply dishonesty.

these jewels are fakes; the real ones are in the vault

When could counterfeit be used to replace fake?

The meanings of counterfeit and fake largely overlap; however, counterfeit applies especially to the close imitation of something valuable.

20-dollar bills that were counterfeits

When is fraud a more appropriate choice than fake?

The synonyms fraud and fake are sometimes interchangeable, but fraud usually implies a deliberate perversion of the truth.

the diary was exposed as a fraud

In what contexts can humbug take the place of fake?

While the synonyms humbug and fake are close in meaning, humbug suggests elaborate pretense usually so flagrant as to be transparent.

creating publicity by foisting humbugs on a gullible public

When is it sensible to use imposture instead of fake?

The words imposture and fake are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, imposture applies to any situation in which a spurious object or performance is passed off as genuine.

their claim of environmental concern is an imposture

When would sham be a good substitute for fake?

Although the words sham and fake have much in common, sham applies to fraudulent imitation of a real thing or action.

condemned the election as a sham

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fake
Adjective
In the same vein as Finstas (fake, secondary or private Instagram accounts) and Stories only shared with close friends, young people are pushing back on solely using social media as a place to see and be seen. — Rachel Hale, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2026 Millions of users have unknowingly become proxy nodes after installing free VPNs or dubious browser extensions, allowing attackers to create fake accounts, scrape data at scale and commit promo and payment fraud. — Dan Pinto, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
Noun
The second-round pass rusher made aggressive mistakes, falling twice for option fakes and overrunning a screen pass early. — Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 15 Aug. 2026 The flip side • Kudos to Finland for educating students in how to discern AI deep fakes! — Ticked Off, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2026
Verb
Does your crazy uncle really believe that the moon landing was faked? — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2026 The charge stems from a case where Brown apparently faked a pregnancy, the sheriff said. — Avni Trivedi, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026
Noun
The green-screen effects are knowing in their outright fakery; the nerdiness of the whole enterprise is lampshaded with a whole setpiece in a comic-book store. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 2 June 2026 In that vacuum, fakery thrives. — Lane Brown, Vulture, 15 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for fake
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fake
  1. counterfeit
  2. faux
  3. mock
  4. double
  5. hoax
  6. fraud
  7. forge
  8. pretend
Adjective
  • Even as the actors shouted in counterfeit pain from the next room, the subjects continued to administer increasingly intense shocks they’d been told could lead to unconsciousness or even death.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Investigators said cychlorphine was found in counterfeit pills mimicking Xanax, adderall, and Oxy's.
    — Kevin Ko, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of counterfeit
Adjective
  • Oblivious to her own biases about who Leo is and why, Mallory poses as a therapist keen on saving his life, but uses their faux sessions to mine his story for literary gold.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • That red coat Swift strutted into Arrowhead a few days before Christmas in 2024 for the Chiefs-Texans game in a statement-making, cherry red faux fur and suede coat with fluffy cuffs and collar by British label Charlotte Simone.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of faux
Adjective
  • Allegheny Health Network put its emergency trauma center network to the test Thursday with a first-of-its-kind mock river rescue exercise for the network at Allegheny General Hospital.
    — Jessica Riley, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The definitive description of Clarus appears in a mock technical note written by Apple developer-support staffer Mark Harlan in 1989 that has long since vanished from the web.
    — Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of mock
Adjective
  • The double wins add to Rhys’ collection of gold across the acting categories.
    — Maira Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • In the eighth inning, the Yankees were losing 2-1 when Lombard crushed Andrew Morris’ 98 mph fastball for a double off the wall in left-center field.
    — Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of double
Noun
  • Lodi Unified says these posts are typically hoaxes but law enforcement and the district are taking every report seriously, giving some relief.
    — Carmela Karcher, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • As money hijacks morality and democracy begins to look like a hoax, Tresnjak’s Broadway-caliber staging contrasts garish spectacle with piercingly intimate scenes between Claire and Anton.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of hoax
Noun
  • Investigators found that those allegations only scratched the surface of the amount of fraud that was believed to have occurred.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Critics also questioned whether the bill provided sufficient safeguards against fraud, money laundering and market manipulation.
    — Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of fraud
Verb
  • Combs was a beacon of inspiration not just for the Black community, but for those who admired the classic American spirit of forging one’s own destiny.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026
  • With striking speed, the widespread debate around data centers has become a fault line in American communities, cutting across political parties, splitting constituencies and forging unexpected alliances.
    — Scott Neuman, NPR, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of forge
Verb
  • The surviving witness fell to the floor, pretending to be dead, and called 911 once Lee left the store.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Members of these networks share detailed guides on how to identify vulnerable girls online and groom them by pretending to have a romantic interest or be a supportive friend.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of pretend

Phrases Containing fake

Browse Nearby Words

faiths
fake
faked
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fake.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fake. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of nemesis

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All