Question 1 · Quick check
phony
CEFRB2
/ˈfoʊni/
adjective · noun
Türkçe translations
Translating…
In plain English
- 01
adjective
Not real or genuine; pretending to be something it is not.
- 02
noun
A person who is not sincere or genuine.
Examples
I got sucked in on a lot of phony deals.
My mother says that the child's illnesses are phony.
At a glance
Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale
- Senses
- 5
- Parts of speech
- 2
- Citations
- 3
- Synonyms
- 5
Deep Dive
adjective
Extra meaningsA person who assumes an identity or quality other than their own.
Fraudulent; fake; having a misleading appearance.
noun
Extra meaningA person who professes beliefs or opinions that they do not hold.
More examples
In contextA good jeweler should be able to tell a real stone from a phony one.
He claims to be a doctor, but he's nothing but a fast-talking phony.
He's such a phony, he doesn't believe half of what he says.
Related
Quick test
Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.
Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.
Nearby
Origin
adjective
Of unknown origin. Perhaps an alteration of fawny (“gilt brass ring used by swindlers”) (1781), from Irish fáinne (“ring”).