counterfeit
English · Thesaurus
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counterfeit
- /ˈkaʊn.tɚˌfɪt/ US
- /ˈkawntəˌfɪt/ British, Southern, Standard
Where it comes from
From Middle English counterfeit, countrefet, from Anglo-Norman countrefait, from Old French contrefait, from Latin contra- (“against”) + Latin facere (“to make”). Piecewise doublet of contrafactum.
adjective
- False, especially of money; intended to deceive or carry appearance of being genuine. This counterfeit watch looks like the real thing, but it broke a week after I bought it.
- Inauthentic. counterfeit sympathy
- Assuming the appearance of something; deceitful; hypocritical. an arrant counterfeit rascal
noun counterfeits
- A non-genuine article; a fake. Never call a true piece of gold a counterfeit.
- One who counterfeits; a counterfeiter.
- That which resembles another thing; a likeness; a portrait; a counterpart. Thou drawest a counterfeit / Best in all Athens.
- An impostor; a cheat. I fear thou art another counterfeit; / And yet, in faith, thou bear'st thee like a king.
verb counterfeits · counterfeiting · counterfeited
- To falsely produce what appears to be official or valid; to produce a forged copy of. to counterfeit the signature of another, coins, notes, etc.
- To produce a faithful copy of. The title page of White's original album includes a descriptive title page that identifies the contents as “the pictures of sondry things collected and counterfeited according to the truth,"
- To feign; to mimic. to counterfeit the voice of another person
- Of a turn or river card, to invalidate a player's hand by making a better hand on the board.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: forged, assumed, pretended, phony, sham, phoney, fake, bogus, spurious, inauthentic, fictitious, mock, pseudo, ostensive, ostensible, fictive
Translations
Every language
adj intended to deceive or carry appearance of being genuine
| Español | contrahecho, falsificado, trucho, de similor, bamba, chimbo |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ニセ物 nisemono |
| 中文 | 假冒 jiǎmào |
| हिन्दी | खोटा khoṭā, जाली jālī |
| Kiswahili | bandia |
| Português | falsificado, réplica |
| Français | contrefait |
| Deutsch | gefälscht, nachgemacht, unecht, Falsch- |
| Italiano | contraffazione, falso |
| Ελληνικά | πλαστός plastós, κίβδηλος kívdilos |
| Русский | подде́льный poddélʹnyj, фальши́вый falʹšívyj, контрафа́ктный kontrafáktnyj |
| Tiếng Việt | giả, giả mạo |
| עברית | מזויף mezuyáf |
adj unauthentic
| Español | contrahecho |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | bandia |
| Português | falso |
| Français | contrefait |
| Deutsch | falsch |
| Italiano | contraffazione, falso |
| Ελληνικά | ψεύτικος pséftikos |
| Русский | подде́льный poddélʹnyj, фальши́вый falʹšívyj, контрафа́ктный kontrafáktnyj |
noun fake
| Español | contrahechura |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 偽物 nisemono, フェイク feiku |
| 中文 | 贗品 /赝品 yànpǐn |
| हिन्दी | नक़ल naqal |
| Kiswahili | bandia |
| Português | contrafação, falsificação |
| Français | contrefaçon |
| Deutsch | Fälschung |
| Italiano | contraffazione, falso, imitazione |
| Русский | подде́лка poddélka, фальши́вка falʹšívka |
verb To produce something that appears to be official or valid
| Español | falsificar, contrahacer |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | bandia |
| Português | contrafazer, falsificar |
| Français | contrefaire |
| Deutsch | fälschen |
| Italiano | contraffare, falsificare |
| Ελληνικά | πλαστογραφώ plastografó, παραχαράσσω paracharásso |
| Русский | подде́лывать poddélyvatʹ, подде́лать poddélatʹ, фальсифицировать falʹsificirovatʹ |
| עברית | זִיֵּף ziyyéf |
Talk about this word "counterfeit." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/counterfeit. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. counterfeit. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/counterfeit "counterfeit." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/counterfeit.Cite this
@misc{counterfeit_2026,
title = {counterfeit},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/counterfeit},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
