phonying

verb

present participle of phony
as in forging
to imitate or copy especially in order to deceive the terrorists were able to move around the country using phonied driver's licenses

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for phonying
  1. forging
  2. counterfeiting
  3. faking
  4. simulating
Verb
  • Deborah is forging her own stylish reputation wearing Balmain and a Chanel look of her own.
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Bosa seems committed to forging ahead in another ACL comeback, having rebounded well in 2021 with a reconstructed left knee and captured NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2022.
    — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of forging
Verb
  • Several arrests were related to counterfeiting and selling knock-off Knicks apparel, an NYPD source said.
    — Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 12 June 2026
  • There have been a lot of studies on counterfeiting conducted with customs and police, but these have mostly focused on the scale of the problem.
    — Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 26 May 2026
Definition of counterfeiting
Verb
  • The prosecution, led by Jennifer Sprague and Shanan Buckingham, alleges that Clancy planned the murders before faking a suicide attempt.
    — Aaron Parseghian, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • This aims to make faking qualifications harder, addressing a critical hiring infrastructure problem.
    — Kara Dennison, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of faking
Verb
  • My own view is that the bill should have more restrictive testing requirements around edge cases—for instance, simulating power outages or major emergencies—before driverless vehicles can be deployed.
    — Rogé Karma, The Atlantic, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Critically, their lawyer scattered crumpled gum wrappers in the trash and on the floor, simulating recent activity from multiple prospective buyers.
    — David J. Moore, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of simulating
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.

Browse Nearby Words

phony-baloney
phonying
phooey
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Cite this Entry

“Phonying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phonying. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

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