Phony meaning
Something that is not genuine; a fake.
noun
Phony is something or someone that is not as it seems, or a person who pretends to be something he is not.
Someone who is poor but who pretends to be rich to impress others is an example of a phony.
noun
Fraudulent, deceitful, or dishonest.
A phony expert in investing.
adjective
A fraudulent or dishonest person.
noun
Sound.
Telephony.
suffix
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Not genuine; false, counterfeit, spurious, pretentious, etc.
adjective
Something not genuine; sham; fake.
noun
A (specified kind of) sound.
Polyphony.
affix
Fraudulent; fake; having a misleading appearance.
A good jeweler should be able to tell a real stone from a phony one.
adjective
A person who assumes an identity or quality other than their own.
He claims to be a doctor, but he's nothing but a fast-talking phony.
noun
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A person who professes beliefs or opinions that they do not hold.
He's such a phony, he doesn't believe half of what he says.
noun
The definition of phony is someone or something that is not genuine, or not honest or insincere.
A knock-off Gucci purse is an example of a purse that would be described as phony.
adjective
Not genuine or real; sham or counterfeit.
A phony credit card; a phony beard.
adjective
Spurious, deceptive, or false.
A phony excuse.
adjective
A person who is not what he or she pretends to be; one who deceives, dissembles, is insincere, etc.; fraud.
noun
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Origin of phony
- < Gr phōnē, a sound: see phono-
From Webster's New World College Dictionary, 5th Edition
- Alteration of fawney gilt brass ring used by swindlers from Irish Gaelic fáinne ring from Old Irish
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Greek -phōniā from phōnē sound, voice bhā-2 in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Perhaps an alteration of fawney “gilt brass ring used by swindlers" (1781), from Irish fáinne (“ring").
From Wiktionary