Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [foh-nee]
- /ˈfoʊ ni/
- /ˈfəʊ.ni/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [foh-nee]
- /ˈfoʊ ni/
Definitions of phony word
- adjective phony not real or genuine; fake; counterfeit: a phony diamond. 1
- adjective phony false or deceiving; not truthful; concocted: a phony explanation. 1
- adjective phony insincere or deceitful; affected or pretentious: a phony sales representative. 1
- noun plural phony something that is phony; a counterfeit or fake. 1
- noun plural phony an insincere, pretentious, or deceitful person: He thought my friends were a bunch of phonies. 1
- verb with object phony to falsify; counterfeit; fabricate (often followed by up): to phony up a document. 1
Information block about the term
Origin of phony
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 Phony
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
phony 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.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.
phony usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for phony
noun phony
- apery — imitative behaviour; mimicry
- bad actor — a mean, ill-tempered, troublemaking, or evil person.
- beguiler — to influence by trickery, flattery, etc.; mislead; delude.
- bon mot — A bon mot is a clever, witty remark.
- bunco artist — a confidence trickster or con artist
adj phony
- artificial — Artificial objects, materials, or processes do not occur naturally and are created by human beings, for example using science or technology.
- assumed — false; fictitious
- bastard — Bastard is an insulting word which some people use about a person, especially a man, who has behaved very badly.
- bogus — If you describe something as bogus, you mean that it is not genuine.
- campiest — of, relating to, or characterized by camp: a campy send-up of romantic operetta.
verb phony
- bs — BS is an abbreviation for 'British Standard', which is a standard that something sold in Britain must reach in a test to prove that it is satisfactory or safe. Each standard has a number for reference.
- bulled — the male of a bovine animal, especially of the genus Bos, with sexual organs intact and capable of reproduction.
- bulling — the male of a bovine animal, especially of the genus Bos, with sexual organs intact and capable of reproduction.
- copy — If you make a copy of something, you produce something that looks like the original thing.
- cribbing — the action of one that cribs
adjective phony
- astucious — Subtle; cunning; astute.
- copied — an imitation, reproduction, or transcript of an original: a copy of a famous painting.
- doubtable — (uncommon) Capable of being doubted; doubtful; dubious; dubitable. See usage notes below.
- ersatz — (of a product) Made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else.
- fake — to lay (a rope) in a coil or series of long loops so as to allow to run freely without fouling or kinking (often followed by down).
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