# phony

/ˈfoʊni/ (US) · /fˈəʊni/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/phony
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. fake or not real

adjective · CEFR B2 · Informal

not real or honest; intended to trick people into thinking something is better than it is.

For teachers: fraudulent or deceptive in appearance; lacking authenticity.

- He tried to pay for the coffee with a phony ten-dollar bill.
- The investigator immediately noticed the phony credentials, noting that the seal on the document didn't match the official government design.

### 2. an insincere person

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal

a person who is not honest or who pretends to be someone they are not.

For teachers: a person who affects a character, set of beliefs, or identity that is not their own; a hypocrite.

- She realized he was a phony who only pretended to be interested in art to impress her.
- 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.

### 3. to fake something

verb · CEFR C1 · Informal · American English

to pretend or to make something look real when it is not.

For teachers: to misrepresent or fabricate something; often used with 'up' as in 'phony up'.

- They tried to phony up the lab results to make the product look safe.
- The accountant was caught attempting to phony up the expense reports to cover the missing funds from the previous quarter.

Usage: Often appears as the phrasal verb 'phony up'.

## Examples

- I can tell his smile is phony.
- She realized the salesperson was being phony when he started giving her too many fake compliments.
- The politician's attempt at a populist persona was widely criticized as phony by voters who remembered his previous career in corporate finance.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.