Phony Definition
fōnē
phoneys, phonier, phonies, phoniest
adjective
phonier, phoniest
Not genuine or real; sham or counterfeit.
A phony credit card; a phony beard.
American Heritage
Not genuine; false, counterfeit, spurious, pretentious, etc.
Webster's New World
Fraudulent, deceitful, or dishonest.
A phony expert in investing.
American Heritage
noun
phonies
Something not genuine; sham; fake.
Webster's New World
A person who is not what he or she pretends to be; one who deceives, dissembles, is insincere, etc.; fraud.
Webster's New World
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.
Wiktionary
suffix
Sound.
Telephony.
American Heritage
affix
A (specified kind of) sound.
Polyphony.
Webster's New World
Other Word Forms of Phony
Noun
Singular:
phony
Plural:
phoniesAdjective
Base Form:
phony
Comparative:
phonier
Superlative:
phoniestOrigin of Phony
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
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Perhaps an alteration of fawney “gilt brass ring used by swindlers" (1781), from Irish fáinne (“ring").
From Wiktionary
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Greek -phōniā from phōnē sound, voice bhā-2 in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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