phoney

UK: /ˈfəʊni/ US: (fō′nē)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pho•ney  (fō′nē), adj., -ni•er, -ni•est, n., pl. -neys, v.t., -neyed, -ney•ing. 

1. phony.

pho′ney•ness, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

phoney, phony / ˈfəʊnɪ/ adjective ( -nier, -niest)

1. not genuine; fake
2. (of a person) insincere or pretentious

noun ( -neys, -nies)

1. an insincere or pretentious person
2. something that is not genuine; a fake

Etymology: 20th Century: origin uncertain

ˈphoneyness, ˈphoniness noun

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

pho•ny or pho•ney /ˈfoʊni/   adj., -ni•er, -ni•est, n., pl. -nies or -neys, v., -nied or -neyed, -ny•ing or -ney•ing. 
adj. 

1. not real or genuine;
   fake:
   phony diamonds.
2. false or deceiving;
   affected or pretentious:
   a phony excuse.

n. 

3. something phony;
   a counterfeit or fake:
   That's a phony; she has the real gem!
4. an insincere person;
   a person who pretends to be better than he or she is:
   What a phony he was!

v. 

5. to falsify: [~ + up + object]
   to phony up a document.
   [~ + object + up]
   to phony the document up by changing the date and some figures.

pho•ni•ness, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pho•ny  (fō′nē), adj., -ni•er, -ni•est, n., pl. -nies, v., -nied, -ny•ing. 
adj. 

1. not real or genuine;
   fake;
   counterfeit:
   a phony diamond.
2. false or deceiving;
   not truthful;
   concocted:
   a phony explanation.
3. insincere or deceitful;
   affected or pretentious:
   a phony sales representative.

n. 

4. something that is phony;
   a counterfeit or fake.
5. an insincere, pretentious, or deceitful person:
   He thought my friends were a bunch of phonies.

v.t. 

6. to falsify;
   counterfeit;
   fabricate (often fol. by up):
   to phony up a document.
   Also, phoney. 

• Irish fsptáinne), if taken to mean "false'' in the phrase fawney rig a confidence game in which a brass ring is sold as a gold one
• perh. alteration and respelling, respelled of fawney (slang) finger ring (1895–1900

pho′ni•ly, adv. 
pho′ni•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 4. fraud, imitation, hoax.

-phony, 

1. a combining form used in the formation of abstract nouns corresponding to nouns ending in -phone: telephony.

• Greek -phōnia; see -phone, -y³