variants or phoney-baloney
Definition of phony-baloneynext

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 phony-baloney Namely, their own phony-baloney, six-figure jobs. Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 20 Dec. 2025 The script is by David Koepp (writer of the best Mission: Impossible, the 1996 Brian De Palma iteration), and it’s filled with shimmery red herrings and liberal lashings of phony-baloney techno-spy stuff. Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 6 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phony-baloney
Adjective
  • The board cited recent state and federal decisions, which have both noted the issue of AI programs citing fake legal citations is growing.
    William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 13 Jan. 2026
  • Howze, who has schizophrenia, was also able to escape the hospital following the incident, only to be return a few days later wearing a visitor’s pass with a fake name.
    Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • These ones elevate the trend — pun intended — with comfortable platform soles and double side stripe appliqués.
    Jamie Allison Sanders, PEOPLE, 11 Jan. 2026
  • McDonald's has made the Big Arch — a massive double-patty burger — a permanent menu item in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
    Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Diplomacy is preferable, but diplomacy without credibility is meaningless.
    Jason D. Greenblatt, semafor.com, 9 Jan. 2026
  • Sadly, these beliefs become meaningless when college turns into a test of how much a person can endure instead of a career path.
    Liam McCusker, Hartford Courant, 7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Online activists also spammed the company’s website with phony employment applications for jobs on the deportation flights.
    David Matthews, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
  • My NewsGuard colleague Chiara Vercellone, a senior staff analyst, identified five phony and out-of-context still images and two falsified videos supposedly depicting the military operation and its aftermath.
    James Warren, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • His fall played as tabloid morality tale, at once confirming secular suspicion about hypocritical Christians and Christian suspicions about the temptations of secular trappings.
    Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
  • And now, with several countries withdrawing from global governance, Jin thinks those lecturing China on being responsible are being hypocritical.
    Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 14 Dec. 2025
Adjective
  • On the opposite end of the spectrum, Tatianna points to cinnamon as a conductor of heat—one commonly used in lip plumper products to achieve a sultry pout.
    Essence, Essence, 23 Nov. 2025
  • The pop of color offers a shimmer-free (rare!) means of warming up a wedding look and works equally well at lip level.
    Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Once the artificial uterine lining was ready, the team introduced two types of embryos into the chip.
    Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 10 Jan. 2026
  • Not artificial, not external, but absolute.
    Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Time, 10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • And to folks unfamiliar with the IP system, that makes some superficial sense.
    David J. Kappos, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2026
  • Whether opting for a superficial peel like a lactic or glycolic acid, a medium-depth peel such as Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA), or deep treatment such as phenol, a chemical peel can address many skin concerns.
    Essence, Essence, 8 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Phony-baloney.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phony-baloney. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.

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