counterfeit

/ˌkaʊntərˈfɪt/

/ˈkaʊntəfɪt/

Other forms: counterfeiting; counterfeited; counterfeits; counterfeitly

A counterfeit is a fake or a forgery. If you painted an uncanny copy of the "Mona Lisa" and tried to pass it off as the original, you'd have a counterfeit on your hands.

An exact imitation of anything — a work of art, a ten dollar bill — is a counterfeit, and the act of creating the fake copy is the verb to counterfeit. You can also describe the forgery using the adjective form of counterfeit: a counterfeit Rolex watch. In Old French, the word contre, "counter or against", together with the word faire, "to make," joined together to mean "to make in imitation," which led to our counterfeit.

Definitions of counterfeit

1. adjective

   not genuine; imitating something superior
   “counterfeit emotion”

   “counterfeit money”

   “counterfeit works of art”

   “a counterfeit prince”

   synonyms: imitative

   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

   intended to deceive

   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

   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

   antonyms:

   genuine

   not fake or counterfeit

   authentic, bona fide, unquestionable, veritable

   not counterfeit or copied

   attested, authenticated, documented

   established as genuine

   good, honest

   not forged

   honest-to-god, honest-to-goodness, old, sure-enough

   (used informally especially for emphasis)

   honest, honorable

   not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent

   existent, real

   being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory

   sincere

   open and genuine; not deceitful

   true

   consistent with fact or reality; not false
2. noun

   a copy that is represented as the original
   synonyms: forgery

   type of:

   imitation

   something copied or derived from an original
3. verb

   make a copy of with the intent to deceive
   “they counterfeited dollar bills”

   synonyms: fake, forge

   type of:

   re-create

   create anew