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
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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
-
The agency allegedly used Bank of America accounts to lure young women with fake modeling offers, while financial records suggest the bank was aware of these suspicious connections, according to plaintiff’s claims.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Some guests got very into it—one adopted a fake British accent for the duration.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In another twist late Saturday night, the Canadian women's team was accused by match officials of the same double-touch violation, this time by veteran skip Rachel Homan in the first end against Switzerland.—
STEVE DOUGLAS,
Arkansas Online,
15 Feb. 2026
-
The home crowd favorite is coming back from tearing her ACL and suffering a double leg break in April of last year, only returning to competition last month ahead of the Olympics.—
Sean Nevin,
NBC news,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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So, wins were not a meaningless line on the stat sheet in King Félix’s heyday — but the voters in this election seemed to have a different take.—
Jayson Stark,
New York Times,
10 Feb. 2026
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But for current and past dog parents, that sentiment is far from meaningless.—
Anna Halkidis,
Parents,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The defendants used insider access to DoorDash’s computer systems to assign the orders to the phony driver accounts, which were then paid as if individual orders had been delivered hundreds of times.—
Jason Green,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
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In the Lindbergh case, thousands of phony ransom notes came in, whether from those hungry for cash or notoriety, hoping to get a bite by association with the desperate aviator’s story.—
Kase Wickman,
Vanity Fair,
7 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Judges could reason the NCAA interpreting rules to allow pros from some leagues, but not others, is hypocritical and arbitrary.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
10 Feb. 2026
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And if you’re inspired to take some meaningful, not at all hypocritical action against book bans, there are plenty of ways to get plugged in with Authors Against Book Bans.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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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
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This cake requires a fine balance of enough food dye for a vibrant interior without making the cake taste artificial.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
14 Feb. 2026
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Its co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei has promised a clearer focus on the safety of the better-than-human technology called artificial general intelligence that both San Francisco firms aimed to build.—
Matt O'Brien,
Fortune,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The same can be said of Schneeberger and Neibaur’s volume, a read that, like its subject, exhibits a breezy superficial charm before giving way to genuine depth and multiple rewards.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
10 Feb. 2026
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But Sonnet 130 may very well be the most popular for its testament to genuine love as opposed to superficial infatuation.—
David McGrath,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Phony-baloney.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phony-baloney. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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