phony
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.not real or honest; intended to trick people into thinking something is better than it is.
adj.fraudulent or deceptive in appearance; lacking authenticity.
Simple“He tried to pay for the coffee with a phony ten-dollar bill.”
In context“The investigator immediately noticed the phony credentials, noting that the seal on the document didn't match the official government design.”
PitfallHe gave me a phony money. He gave me phony money.When 'phony' describes an uncountable noun like 'money', do not use 'a'.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a person who is not honest or who pretends to be someone they are not.
n.a person who affects a character, set of beliefs, or identity that is not their own; a hypocrite.
Simple“She realized he was a phony who only pretended to be interested in art to impress her.”
In context“The politician was dismissed as a phony by voters who felt his sudden concern for the working class was merely a tactical move for the election.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
v.to pretend or to make something look real when it is not.
v.to misrepresent or fabricate something; often used with 'up' as in 'phony up'.
Simple“They tried to phony up the lab results to make the product look safe.”
In context“The accountant was caught attempting to phony up the expense reports to cover the missing funds from the previous quarter.”
UsageOften appears as the phrasal verb 'phony up'.
Of unknown origin. Perhaps an alteration of fawny (“gilt brass ring used by swindlers”) (1781), from Irish fáinne (“ring”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.