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fake

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fake¹

  • /feɪ̯k/

Sounds like PHEIC · Rhymes with -eɪk

Where it comes from

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”).

adjective faker · more fake · fakest · most fake

  1. Not real; false, fraudulent. Which fur coat looks fake?

    Opposite: authentic, genuine

  2. Insincere

Similar: 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 · Opposite: genuine, real

noun fakes

  1. Something which is not genuine, or is presented fraudulently. I suspect this passport is a fake.
  2. A move meant to deceive an opposing player, used for gaining advantage for example when dribbling an opponent.

    Similar: feint, deke

  3. archaic A trick; a swindle.
  4. An impostor.

verb fakes · faking · faked

  1. transitive To make a counterfeit, to counterfeit, to forge, to falsify.
  2. transitive To make a false display of, to affect, to feign, to simulate. to fake a marriage

    Similar: pass off, pose

  3. archaic To cheat; to swindle; to steal; to rob.
  4. archaic To modify fraudulently, so as to make an object appear better or other than it really is. He had a hundred similar tricks, but I never knew him fake a horse, or sell one as sound if it was not.

    Similar: adulterate

  5. ambitransitive To improvise, in jazz. Occasionally the opportunity arises to stand up and "fake" a jazz standard.

fake²

  • /feɪ̯k/

Sounds like PHEIC · Rhymes with -eɪk

Where it comes from

Inherited from Middle English faken (“to coil a rope”).

noun fakes

  1. One of the circles or windings of a cable or hawser, as it lies in a coil; a single turn or coil.

verb fakes · faking · faked

  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.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: phoney, faux, phony, bogus, sham, falsify, artificial, imposter, impostor, counterfeit, wangle, pretender, misrepresent, fraud, pseud, pseudo

adjective

Similar: 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 · Opposite: genuine, real

Translations

Every language

adj not real

Españolfalso, sacha
한국어가짜 gajja
日本語偽 nise, 紛い magai
中文假 jiǎ, 僞 /伪 wěi, 贗 /赝 yàn
Kiswahilibandia
Portuguêsfalso, de mentira
Françaisfaux, factice, artificiel, contrefait, falsifié, feint
Deutschgefälscht, unecht
Italianofalso, finto, fasullo
Ελληνικάψεύτικος pséftikos
Русскийфальши́вый falʹšívyj, ненастоя́щий nenastojáščij, подде́льный poddélʹnyj, фе́йковый féjkovyj
Tiếng Việtgiả, nhái
العربيةمُزَيَّف muzayyaf

adj insincere

Españolkalé, impostado

noun something which is not genuine, or is presented fraudulently

Españolfalsificación, doblete
한국어가짜 gajja
日本語偽物 nisemono, ぱちもん pachimon, 偽 nise
中文贗品 /赝品 yànpǐn
हिन्दीनक़ल naqal
Kiswahilibandia, feki
Portuguêsfalsificação, falso
Françaisfaux, contrefaçon
DeutschFälschung, Illusion, Imitat, Schwindel, Trug, Irreführung
Italianoimitazione, contraffazione, falsificazione, falso
Русскийподде́лка poddélka, фальши́вка falʹšívka, фейк fejk, фэйк fɛjk, ли́па lípa
Tiếng Việthàng giả, hàng nhái

noun impostor

Españolfalso

verb counterfeit, falsify

Españolfalsear, falsificar
한국어위조하다 wijohada
日本語偽造する gizō suru
Portuguêsfalsear
Françaisfausser
Deutschfälschen, imitieren
Русскийподде́лывать poddélyvatʹ, подде́лать poddélatʹ
Tiếng Việtlàm giả, nhái

verb make a false display of

Españolfingir, fintear, fintar
日本語偽装する gisō suru
中文偽裝 /伪装 wěizhuāng, 偽造 /伪造 wěizào
Deutschvortäuschen, fingieren, simulieren
Русскийпритворя́ться pritvorjátʹsja, притвори́ться pritvorítʹsja, прики́дываться prikídyvatʹsja, прики́нуться prikínutʹsja
Tiếng Việtngụy trang, ngụy tạo

verb cheat, swindle

日本語欺く azamuku, 騙す damasu, 騙る kataru
Tiếng Việtgian lận

verb modify fraudulently to make sth. look better

Españolfalsear, falsificar
日本語改竄する kaizan suru
Portuguêsfalsificar
Françaisfausser
Deutschfälschen, fingieren, türken, vortäuschen
Русскийподде́лывать poddélyvatʹ, подде́лать poddélatʹ
Tiếng Việtlàm giả

noun winding

Españoladuja
Italianoduglia

verb wind

Españoladujar
Françaislover
Italianodugliare

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Cite this
MLA

"fake." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/fake. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

fake. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/fake

Chicago

"fake." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/fake.

BibTeX
@misc{fake_2026,
  title = {fake},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/fake},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}