phoniness

pho·ny

P p

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [foh-nee]
- /ˈfoʊ ni/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [foh-nee]
- /ˈfoʊ ni/

Definitions of phoniness word

adjective phoniness not real or genuine; fake; counterfeit: a phony diamond. 1
adjective phoniness false or deceiving; not truthful; concocted: a phony explanation. 1
adjective phoniness insincere or deceitful; affected or pretentious: a phony sales representative. 1
noun plural phoniness something that is phony; a counterfeit or fake. 1
noun plural phoniness an insincere, pretentious, or deceitful person: He thought my friends were a bunch of phonies. 1
verb with object phoniness to falsify; counterfeit; fabricate (often followed by up): to phony up a document. 1

See all 6 definitions of phoniness

Information block about the term

Origin of phoniness

First appearance:

before 1895

One of the 18% newest English words

1895-1900; perhaps alteration and respelling of fawney (slang) finger ring (< 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

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Phoniness

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Phoniness

phoniness popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 86% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

According to our data about 67% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

phoniness usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for phoniness

noun phoniness

ambidexterity — ambidextrous ease, skill, or facility.
artificiality — artificial quality.
bad faith — intention to deceive; treachery or dishonesty (esp in the phrase in bad faith)
cover up — If you cover something or someone up, you put something over them in order to protect or hide them.
dissimulation — the act of dissimulating; feigning; hypocrisy.

All 26 Synonyms of phoniness