English Explanatory Dictionary

fake

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Not real; false, fraudulent.
  2. Insincere
noun
  1. Something which is not genuine, or is presented fraudulently.
  2. A move meant to deceive an opposing player, used for gaining advantage for example when dribbling an opponent.
  3. A trick; a swindle
verb
  1. To make a counterfeit, to counterfeit, to forge, to falsify.
  2. To make a false display of, to affect, to feign, to simulate.
  3. To cheat; to swindle; to steal; to rob.
  4. To modify fraudulently, so as to make an object appear better or other than it really is
  5. To improvise, in jazz.
noun
  1. One of the circles or windings of a cable or hawser, as it lies in a coil; a single turn or coil.
verb
  1. To coil (a rope, line, or hawser), by winding alternately in opposite directions, in layers usually of zigzag or figure of eight form, to prevent twisting when running out.

Pronunciation

/feɪ̯k/ fāk en-us-fake.ogg

Word forms

fake faker more fake fakest most fake fakes faking faked

Etymology

The origin is not known with certainty, although first attested in 1775 C.E. in British criminals' slang. It is probably from feak, feague (“to give a better appearance through artificial means, spruce up, embellish”), itself from German Low German fegen, from Middle Low German vēgen, from Old Saxon fegōn, from Proto-West Germanic *fegōn (“to clean up, polish”). Akin to Dutch veeg (“a swipe”), Dutch vegen (“to sweep, wipe”); German fegen (“to sweep, to polish”). Compare also Old English fācn (“deceit, fraud”). Perhaps related also to Old Norse fjúka (“to fade, vanquish, disappear”), Old Norse feikn (“strange, scary, unnatural”).

Synonyms

artificial bad bogus bollocks concocted counterfeit ersatz fabricated false falsified fake faux feigned forged fraudulent illegitimate ingenuine mock phoney phony-baloney phony phony as a three-dollar bill pseudo put-up said to be sham spurious synthetic unauthentic unreal trumped-up feint deke pass off pose adulterate

Antonyms

genuine real authentic

Related words

cry wolf pretext decoy imitate lie

Derived words

cheap fake facon fake and gay fake-ass fake-bake fakebit Fakebook fakecel fakeclaim fake-fan fake fan fakefan fakeful fakegasm fake geek girl fakehood fakeitude fakelore fakely fakemail fakement Fakémon fakeness fake news fake PNG fakepreneur fake Shemp fakeship fakester Fakestine Fakestinian fakestream fake-tanned fake the funk Faketoshi fake tree fakey fakie faky finstagram flog foob for fake frass French fake genuine fake head fake Jafaican ogle fake ogle fake riah ogle riah fake pump-fake pump fake fakeaway semifake superfake fake book outfake antifake deepfake
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