COUNTERFEIT

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does counterfeit mean? 

• COUNTERFEIT (noun)
  The noun COUNTERFEIT has 1 sense:

1. a copy that is represented as the original

  Familiarity information: COUNTERFEIT used as a noun is very rare.

• COUNTERFEIT (adjective)
  The adjective COUNTERFEIT has 1 sense:

1. not genuine; imitating something superior

  Familiarity information: COUNTERFEIT used as an adjective is very rare.

• COUNTERFEIT (verb)
  The verb COUNTERFEIT has 1 sense:

1. make a copy of with the intent to deceive

  Familiarity information: COUNTERFEIT used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COUNTERFEIT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A copy that is represented as the original

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

counterfeit; forgery

Hypernyms ("counterfeit" is a kind of...):

imitation (something copied or derived from an original)

Derivation:

counterfeit (make a copy of with the intent to deceive)

• COUNTERFEIT (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Not genuine; imitating something superior

Synonyms:

counterfeit; imitative

Context example:

a counterfeit prince

Similar:

assumed; false; fictitious; fictive; pretended; put on; sham (adopted in order to deceive)

bad; forged (reproduced fraudulently)

base (debased; not genuine)

bastard; bogus; fake; phoney; phony (fraudulent; having a misleading appearance)

inauthentic; spurious; unauthentic (false or fake; not what it appears to be)

mock (constituting a copy or imitation of something)

ostensible; ostensive (represented or appearing as such; pretended)

pinchbeck (serving as an imitation or substitute)

pseudo ((often used in combination) not genuine but having the appearance of)

synthetic (not genuine or natural)

Also:

artificial; unreal (contrived by art rather than nature)

unreal (lacking in reality or substance or genuineness; not corresponding to acknowledged facts or criteria)

insincere (lacking sincerity)

false (not in accordance with the fact or reality or actuality)

Antonym:

genuine (not fake or counterfeit)

• COUNTERFEIT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they counterfeit    ... he / she / it counterfeits   
Past simple: counterfeited   
Past participle: counterfeited   
-ing form: counterfeiting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make a copy of with the intent to deceive

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

counterfeit; fake; forge

Context example:

She forged a Green Card

Hypernyms (to "counterfeit" is one way to...):

re-create (create anew)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

counterfeit (a copy that is represented as the original)

counterfeiter (someone who makes copies illegally)

 Context examples 

It could be used in potential applications such as assessing the freshness of foods, the quality of drugs, or even identifying counterfeit objects, all from a smartphone camera.

(Nanowires replace Newton’s famous glass prism, University of Cambridge)

Ha! he cried, there are charges here which are above counterfeit.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"I scorn the counterfeit sentiment you offer: yes, St. John, and I scorn you when you offer it."

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

This fellow Hayes had shod his horses with shoes which counterfeited the tracks of cows.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“All of a shiver,” said Mr. Dick, counterfeiting that affection and making his teeth chatter.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Make sure no one has made unauthorized charges to your credit card or printed counterfeit checks that are linked to your checking account.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Gentlemen are sometimes seized with sudden fits of admiration for the young relatives of ladies whom they honor with their regard, but this counterfeit philoprogenitiveness sits uneasily upon them, and does not deceive anybody a particle.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

His honour had further observed, “that a female Yahoo would often stand behind a bank or a bush, to gaze on the young males passing by, and then appear, and hide, using many antic gestures and grimaces, at which time it was observed that she had a most offensive smell; and when any of the males advanced, would slowly retire, looking often back, and with a counterfeit show of fear, run off into some convenient place, where she knew the male would follow her.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

It was a great jest of his, I recollect, to pretend that he couldn't keep his teeth from chattering, whenever mention was made of an Alguazill in connexion with the adventures of Gil Blas; and I remember that when Gil Blas met the captain of the robbers in Madrid, this unlucky joker counterfeited such an ague of terror, that he was overheard by Mr. Creakle, who was prowling about the passage, and handsomely flogged for disorderly conduct in the bedroom.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Gatsby, his hands still in his pockets, was reclining against the mantelpiece in a strained counterfeit of perfect ease, even of boredom.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)