bogus
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
bogus¹
- /ˈbəʊ̯ɡəs/ UK
- [ˈbəʊ̯ɡəs] UK
- /ˈbɵʊ̯ɡəs/ UK
- [ˈbɵʊ̯ɡəs] UK
- /ˈboʊ̯ɡəs/ US
- [ˈboʊ̯ɡəs] US
- /ˈbɔʊ̯ɡəs/ US
- [ˈbɔ̝ʊ̯ɡəs] US
- /ˈbəʉ̯ɡəs/ Australia
- [bəʉ̯ɡəs] Australia
- /ˈbɐʉ̯ɡəs/ Australia
- [bɐ̝ʉ̯ɡəs] Australia
Rhymes with -əʊɡəs
Where it comes from
First attested as an underworld term for an apparatus for creating counterfeit coins, then the coins themselves. Later, the word was applied to anything of poor quality. The newest use to mean useless is probably from the slang of computer hackers.
The origin is unknown, but there are at least two theories that try to trace its origin:
* From Hausa boko (“to fake”). Since bogus first appeared in the United States, it may be possible that its ancestor was brought there on a slave ship.
* From criminal slang as a short form of tantrabogus, a 19th-century slang term for a menacing object, making some believe that bogus might be linked to bogy or bogey (see bogeyman). In this sense, Bogus might be related to Bogle – a traditional trickster from the Scottish Borders, noted for achieving acts of household trickery; confusing, but not usually damaging.
adjective more bogus · most bogus
-
Counterfeit or fake; not genuine.
He was arrested for trying to cash a bogus check at the bank.
Similar: phony, artificial, bad, bogus, bollocks, concocted, counterfeit, ersatz, fabricated, false, falsified, fake
- Undesirable or harmful. What Jefferson was saying was, Hey! You know, we left this England place 'cause it was bogus; so if we don't get some cool rules ourselves - pronto - we'll just be bogus too! Get it?
- Incorrect, useless, or broken.
-
Of a totally fictitious issue printed for collectors, often issued on behalf of a non-existent territory or country (not to be confused with forgery, which is an illegitimate copy of a genuine stamp).
Bogus stamps are labels made to deceive stamp collectors. Many bogus stamps were made prior to 1900 when some had names of imaginary countries.
Similar: illegal
- Based on false or misleading information or unjustified assumptions. bogus laws
noun
- A liquor made of rum and molasses. BOGUS. A liquor made of rum and molasses.
- Counterfeit money. “Ahem—it is the opinion of the court that the prisoner has been making bogus; so we must put him in the jug until Superior Court.[…]”
Bogus²
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Polish Bogus, Boguś, or Romanian Boguș.
proper noun Boguses
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: fake, phoney, phony, counterfeit, bastard, imitative, spurious, faux, mendacious, misleading, sham, forged, artificial, feigned, untruthful, man-made
Translations
Every language
adj counterfeit or fake; not genuine
| Español | trapicheado, barato, fingido, fantasma, hacerse pasar de, disfrazarse de |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 偽の nise-no, 虚偽 kyogi, いんちきの inchiki-no |
| 中文 | 假 jiǎ, 偽 /伪 wěi, 虛偽 /虚伪 xūwěi |
| Português | falso, falsificado, adulterado |
| Français | bidon |
| Deutsch | falsch, gefälscht, unecht, Schein- |
| Italiano | falsificato, truccato, taroccato |
| Русский | подде́льный poddélʹnyj, фикти́вный fiktívnyj, фальши́вый falʹšívyj, ло́жный lóžnyj |
| العربية | زَائِف zāʔif, كَاذِب kāḏib, مُزَوَّر muzawwar |
adj undesirable or harmful
| Français | nul |
|---|
Talk about this word "bogus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bogus. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. bogus. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bogus "bogus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bogus.Cite this
@misc{bogus_2026,
title = {bogus},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bogus},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
