Definitions
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective imitating something superior; intended to deceive; fraudulent; having a misleading appearance; not genuine; counterfeit; fake.
- adjective pretending to be other than one is; putting on false appearances; insincere; hypocritical; -- of people.
- noun something or someone that is phony.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective 1900
Fraudulent ;fake ; having a misleading appearance. - noun A person who assumes an identity or quality other than their own.
- noun A person who professes beliefs or opinions that they do not hold.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives
- adjective fraudulent; having a misleading appearance
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Stray too far into condemning what he called 'phoney human rights concerns' and Cameron will damage his claim to be a different kind of Tory.
The Guardian World News Andrew Sparrow 2011
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Daily Mail says the cut and thrust that used to characterise elections has all but disappeared in what it calls a phoney, heavily stage-managed contest.
British Blogs BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition 2010
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Daily Mail says the cut and thrust that used to characterise elections has all but disappeared in what it calls a phoney, heavily stage-managed contest.
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Daily Mail says the cut and thrust that used to characterise elections has all but disappeared in what it calls a phoney, heavily stage-managed contest.
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What this means is that we need to expose what I call the phoney anti-capitalism of environmentalists and anti-globalisationists.
unknown title 2009
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Their love affair with this hypocritical phoney is sickening.
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PS To my good buddy sro, before you try and correct someone on their spelling you might want to actually make sure you are putting that big ol foot of yours in your mouth, phoney is a perfectly acceptable spelling of the word so please put your 'advice' where the sun don't shine, but please have a pleasant day.
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The Movement, as well as being anti-phoney, is anti-wet; sceptical, robust, ironic, prepared to be as comfortable as possible.
The Man of Feeling 2002
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The Movement, as well as being anti-phoney, is anti-wet; sceptical, robust, ironic, prepared to be as comfortable as possible.
The Man of Feeling 2002
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If you would all form yourselves into a circle and affect an expression of phoney empathetic concern, I have a confession.
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph Matthew Norman 2011
sionnach commented on the word phoney
said to derive from the Irish word 'fainne'
February 19, 2007
bilby commented on the word phoney
I'd rather take pictures with a real camera than with a phoney.
July 14, 2011