phony

1 being such in appearance only and made or manufactured with the intention of committing fraud a phony watch with a designer logo Synonyms of phony bogus, fake, false, forged, inauthentic, counterfeit (also phoney), queer, sham, snide, spurious, unauthenticWords Related to phony artificial, factitious, imitation, man-made, mimic, mock, simulated, substitute, synthetic; dummy, nonfunctioning, ornamental; cultured, fabricated, manufactured; deceptive, delusive, misleadingNear Antonyms of phony natural; actual, true, validAntonyms of phony authentic, bona fide, genuine, real, unfaked

2 lacking in natural or spontaneous quality she always has this phony smile just before she betrays you Synonyms of phony affected, assumed, bogus, contrived, factitious, fake, false, feigned, forced, mechanical, mock, artificial (also phoney), plastic, pretended, pseudo, put-on, sham, simulated, spurious, strained, unnaturalWords Related to phony automatic, canned, concocted, fabricated, hokey, labored, manufactured, pat, unauthentic, unreal, unrealistic; double-dealing, empty, facile, hollow, hypocritical, insincere, left-handed, mealy, mealymouthed, two-faced, unctuous; exaggerated, histrionic, melodramatic, overacted, overdone, theatrical (also theatric); cute, cutesy, genteel, goody-goody, mincing, overrefined, simpering; conventional, formal, impersonal, inflexible, rigid, stiff, stylized, wooden; artful, calculated, conscious, cultivated, deliberate, premeditated, studiedNear Antonyms of phony authentic, bona fide, real, realistic, right, true; honest, ingenuous, sincere, unpretending; easy, effortless, smooth; extemporaneous, impromptu, impulsive, instinctive, unconscious, unprompted, unrehearsed, unstudiedAntonyms of phony artless, genuine, natural, spontaneous, unaffected, uncontrived, unfeigned, unforced

3 not being or expressing what one appears to be or express her concern for our welfare is as phony as all get-out—she just wants to know our business Synonyms of phony artificial, backhanded, counterfeit, double, double-dealing, double-faced, fake, feigned, hypocritical, Janus-faced, jive [slang], left-handed, lip, mealy, mealymouthed, Pecksniffian, insincere (also phoney), phony-baloney (or phoney-baloney), pretended, two-faced, unctuousWords Related to phony affected, assumed, claptrap, contrived, forced, mechanical, put-on, simulated, strained, unnatural; empty, hollow, meaningless; deceitful, devious, dishonest, false, untruthful; facile, glib, superficial; bogus, sham; campy, facetious, jocular, tongue-in-cheek; canting, pharisaical, pious, sanctimonious, self-righteous, simon-pureNear Antonyms of phony direct, forthright, frank, heart-to-heart, open, plain, straightforwardAntonyms of phony artless, candid, genuine, heartfelt, honest, sincere, undesigning, unfeigned

1 an imitation that is passed off as genuine the fancy “emerald” ring turned out to be a phony Synonyms of phony counterfeit, forgery, hoax, humbug, fake (also phoney), shamWords Related to phony copycat, knockoff; copy, facsimile, replica, reproduction; dummy, mock-up; fraud, gaff, imposture, spoof, swindle; simulation, synthetic; bastard, brummagem, duffer, shoddyNear Antonyms of phony original

2 one who makes false claims of identity or expertise the person who performed the liposuction operation was later discovered to be a phony Synonyms of phony charlatan, fake, faker, fakir, fraud, hoaxer, humbug, mountebank, impostor (also phoney), pretender, quack, quacksalver, ringer, shamWords Related to phony copycat, imitator, impersonator, mimic; actor, bluffer, counterfeiter, deceiver, dissembler, duper, feigner, misleader, operator, trickster; poseur; cozener, defrauder, dodger, fraudster [chiefly British], scammer, scamster, sharper, sharpie (or sharpy), skinner, swindlerNear Antonyms of phony ace, adept, authority, crackerjack (also crackajack), expert, maestro, master, past master, professional, virtuoso, whiz, wizard

to imitate or copy especially in order to deceive the terrorists were able to move around the country using phonied driver's licenses Synonyms of phony counterfeit, forge, fakeWords Related to phony simulate; duplicate, reduplicate, replicate, reproduce; crib, plagiarize; adulterate, doctor, fudge, juggle, manipulate, tamper (with); concoct, cook (up), fabricate, invent