variants
or phoney-baloney
as in fake
not being or expressing what one appears to be or express
if you believe the company's phony-baloney press releases, it's in business solely for the benefit of mankind
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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
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
-
Obama recently teamed up with NBA All-Star Anthony Edwards to squash their fake beef while promoting his Obama Presidential Center opening June 19 in Chicago.—
Jay Stahl,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
-
The studio put an ad in The Boston Globe in December that looked like a fake engagement announcement.—
Saba Hamedy,
NBC news,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
One of the top pitching prospects in the organization, Klassen gave up an ambush double to Luke Raley on his first major league pitch but avoided damage in the first inning.—
Doug Padilla,
Oc Register,
6 Apr. 2026
-
His two-out hit in the seventh set the table for Schiek’s tying two-run double, with O’Leary scoring the equalizer.—
Steve Millar,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The next frontier for meaningless records?—
Shawn McFarland,
Dallas Morning News,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The White House already had dismissed the protests as meaningless.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Engage in real, ongoing collaborations — not phony one-offs.—
Laura Washington,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Still, those sorts of phony statements have deeply diminished faith in our elections and our increasingly rickety democracy.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
To expel a Democrat and leave a Republican alone would strike many voters as hypocritical.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Foulkes' campaign has labeled McKee's attacks as desperate and hypocritical, noting his own associations with Home Depot.—
Katherine Gregg,
The Providence Journal,
30 Mar. 2026
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
-
The rotating space station demonstrates centrifugal artificial gravity, reflecting concepts studied by real aerospace engineers.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Its rotating space station demonstrates centrifugal artificial gravity, reflecting concepts studied by real aerospace engineers.—
Samantha Agate,
Kansas City Star,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Many of Barbara’s dreams are superficial and retrograde.—
Boris Kachka,
The Atlantic,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Engagement across these positions may be either fleeting or sustained, but is not inherently superficial.—
Manuela Moscoso,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Phony-baloney.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phony-baloney. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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