fake
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /feɪ̯k/Category:English 1-syllable words#FAKECategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#FAKE, enPR: fāk
Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#FAKEAudio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -eɪkCategory:Rhymes:English/eɪk#FAKECategory:Rhymes:English/eɪk/1 syllable#FAKE
- Homophone: PHEICCategory:English terms with homophones#FAKE
Etymology 1
The origin is not knownCategory:English terms with unknown etymologies#FAKE with certainty, although first attested in 1775 C.E. in British criminals' slang.[1] It is probably from feak, feague (“to give a better appearance through artificial means, spruce up, embellish”), itself from German Low GermanCategory:English terms derived from German Low German#FAKE fegen, from Middle Low GermanCategory:English terms derived from Middle Low German#FAKE vēgen, from Old SaxonCategory:English terms derived from Old Saxon#FAKE fegōn, from Proto-West GermanicCategory:English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic#FAKE *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
fake (comparative faker or more fake, superlative fakest or most fake)Category:English lemmas#FAKECategory:English adjectives#FAKECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#FAKECategory:Pages with entries#FAKECategory:Pages with 7 entries#FAKE
- Not real; false, fraudulent.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:fake
- Antonyms: authentic, genuine
- Which fur coat looks fake?Category:English terms with usage examples#FAKE
- 1988 November 25, Caryn James, “Ayn Rand Adaptation By Italian”, in The New York Times:
- Seeing Rossano Brazzi play an aristocratic White Russian, standing in the fakest snow that wartime supplies could buy, may be the most peculiar twist of all in the curious story of how Ayn Rand's autobiographical first novel came to the screen.Category:English terms with quotations#FAKE
- 2025 October 2, William Davies, “A critique of pure stupidity: understanding Trump 2.0”, in The Guardian:
- The truth panic had the unwelcome side-effect of emboldening those it sought to oppose. “Fake” was one of Trump’s favourite slap-downs, especially to news outlets that reported unwelcome facts about him and his associates. A booming Maga media further amplified the president’s lies and denials.Category:English terms with quotations#FAKE
- (Of people) Insincere
Derived terms
- cheap fake
- facon
- fake and gay
- fake-ass
- fakeaway
- fake-bake
- fakebit
- fake book
- Fakebook
- fakecel
- fakeclaim
- fake-fan, fake fan, fakefan
- fakeful
- fakegasm
- fake geek girl
- fakehood
- fakeitude
- fakelore
- fakely
- fakemail
- fakement
- Fakémon
- fakeness
- fake news
- fake PNG
- fakepreneur
- fake Shemp
- fakeship
- fakester
- Fakestine
- Fakestinian
- fakestream
- fake-tanned
- fake the funk
- Faketoshi
- fake tree
- fakey
- fakie
- faky
- finstagram
- flog
- foob
- for fake
- frass
- French fake
- genuine fake
- head fake
- Jafaican
- ogle fake
- ogle fake riah
- ogle riah fake
- outfake
- pump-fake
- pump fake
- semifake
- superfake
Descendants
Translations
Noun
fake (plural fakes)Category:English lemmas#FAKECategory:English nouns#FAKECategory:English countable nouns#FAKECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#FAKECategory:Pages with entries#FAKECategory:Pages with 7 entries#FAKE
- Something which is not genuine, or is presented fraudulently.
- I suspect this passport is a fake.Category:English terms with usage examples#FAKE
- 1922, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Coming of the Fairies:
- Among other interesting and weighty opinions, which were in general agreement with our contentions, was one by Mr. H. A. Staddon of Goodmayes, a gentleman who had made a particular hobby of fakes in photography. His report is too long and too technical for inclusion, but, under the various headings of composition, dress, development, density, lighting, poise, texture, plate, atmosphere, focus, halation, he goes very completely into the evidence, coming to the final conclusion that when tried by all these tests the chances are not less than 80 per cent. in favour of authenticity.Category:English terms with quotations#FAKE
- (sportsCategory:en:Sports#FAKE) A move meant to deceive an opposing player, used for gaining advantage for example when dribbling an opponent.
- (archaicCategory:English terms with archaic senses#FAKE) A trick; a swindle
Synonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Japanese: フェイク (feiku)Category:Japanese links with redundant alt parameters#FAKE
Translations
Verb
fake (third-person singular simple present fakes, present participle faking, simple past and past participle faked)Category:English lemmas#FAKECategory:English verbs#FAKECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#FAKECategory:Pages with entries#FAKECategory:Pages with 7 entries#FAKE
- (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#FAKE) To make a counterfeit, to counterfeit, to forge, to falsify.
- (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#FAKE) To make a false display of, to affect, to feign, to simulate.
- to fake a marriageCategory:English terms with usage examples#FAKE
- to fake happinessCategory:English terms with usage examples#FAKE
- to fake a smileCategory:English terms with usage examples#FAKE
- 2013, Jocelyn Samara D., Rain, volume 1, →ISBN, page 193:
- "She constantly faked being sick, and perhaps mistakenly, I indulged her more than I should have, pretending I couldn't tell. But I AM a teacher myself, so it's kind of hard to just let this slide."Category:English terms with quotations#FAKE
- (archaicCategory:English terms with archaic senses#FAKE) To cheat; to swindle; to steal; to rob.
- (archaicCategory:English terms with archaic senses#FAKE) To modify fraudulently, so as to make an object appear better or other than it really is
- 1944, George Henderson, The Farming Ladder:
- He had a hundred similar tricks, but I never knew him fake a horse, or sell one as sound if it was not.Category:English terms with quotations#FAKE
- (musicCategory:en:Music#FAKE, ambitransitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#FAKECategory:English intransitive verbs#FAKE) To improvise, in jazz.
- 1994, ITA Journal, volume 22, page 20:
- Occasionally the opportunity arises to stand up and "fake" a jazz standard.Category:English terms with quotations#FAKE
- Denning, cited in 2020, Matt Brennan, Kick It: A Social History of the Drum Kit (page 110)
- In the face of this print music culture, 'faking' was the ability—at once respected and disrespected—to improvise a song (or a part in an arrangement) without reading the notation.
Synonyms
- (modify fraudulently): adulterate
- (make a false display): pass off, pose
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
Category:Entries with translation boxes#FAKE
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Etymology 2
From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#FAKECategory:English terms derived from Middle English#FAKE faken (“to coil a rope”).
Noun
fake (plural fakes)Category:English lemmas#FAKECategory:English nouns#FAKECategory:English countable nouns#FAKECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#FAKECategory:Pages with entries#FAKECategory:Pages with 7 entries#FAKE
- (nauticalCategory:en:Nautical#FAKE) One of the circles or windings of a cable or hawser, as it lies in a coil; a single turn or coil.
Translations
Verb
fake (third-person singular simple present fakes, present participle faking, simple past and past participle faked)Category:English lemmas#FAKECategory:English verbs#FAKECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#FAKECategory:Pages with entries#FAKECategory:Pages with 7 entries#FAKE
- (nauticalCategory:en:Nautical#FAKE) 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.
Translations
Further reading
fake on Wikipedia.Wikipedia - “fake”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “fake”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
References
- ↑ Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “fake”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams
Category:en:Personality#FAKEAfar
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /faˈke/ [fʌˈkɛ]Category:Afar terms with IPA pronunciation#FAKE
- Hyphenation: fa‧ke
Verb
faké (frequentative fakamfaké, autobenefactive fakkaasité)Category:Afar lemmas#FAKECategory:Afar verbs#FAKECategory:Afar entries with incorrect language header#FAKECategory:Pages with entries#FAKECategory:Pages with 7 entries#FAKE
- (transitiveCategory:Afar transitive verbs#FAKE) open
- (transitiveCategory:Afar transitive verbs#FAKE) begin
- (transitiveCategory:Afar transitive verbs#FAKE) expose
- (transitiveCategory:Afar transitive verbs#FAKE) spread out
Conjugation
References
- E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “fake”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
- Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015), L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie), Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis), page 275
Chinese
Etymology
From EnglishCategory:Cantonese terms borrowed from English#FAKECategory:Cantonese terms derived from English#FAKE fake.
Pronunciation
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: fik1
- Yale: fīk
- Cantonese Pinyin: fik7
- Guangdong Romanization: fig1
- Sinological IPA (key): /fɪk̚⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Verb
fakeCategory:Chinese lemmas#FAKECategory:Chinese verbs#FAKECategory:Chinese entries with incorrect language header#FAKECategory:Pages with entries#FAKECategory:Pages with 7 entries#FAKE
- (Hong Kong CantoneseCategory:Hong Kong Cantonese#FAKE, transitiveCategory:Chinese transitive verbs#FAKE) to fool; to deceive (such as by presenting fake or ingenuine information)
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:fake.
French
Verb
fakeCategory:French non-lemma forms#FAKECategory:French verb forms#FAKECategory:French terms spelled with K#FAKECategory:French entries with incorrect language header#FAKECategory:Pages with entries#FAKECategory:Pages with 7 entries#FAKE
- inflection of faker:
German
Etymology
Borrowed from EnglishCategory:German terms borrowed from English#FAKECategory:German terms derived from English#FAKE fake.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fɛɪ̯k/, /feɪ̯k/, /feːk/Category:German 1-syllable words#FAKECategory:German 1-syllable words#FAKECategory:German 1-syllable words#FAKECategory:German terms with IPA pronunciation#FAKE
- (inflected forms) IPA(key): /fɛɪ̯kə/, /feɪ̯kə/, /feːkə/Category:German 2-syllable words#FAKECategory:German 2-syllable words#FAKECategory:German 2-syllable words#FAKECategory:German terms with IPA pronunciation#FAKE
Category:German terms with audio pronunciation#FAKEAudio (Germany (Berlin)): (file) - Homophone: FakeCategory:German terms with homophones#FAKE
Adjective
fake (strong nominative masculine singular faker, not comparable)Category:German lemmas#FAKECategory:German adjectives#FAKECategory:German uncomparable adjectives#FAKECategory:German entries with incorrect language header#FAKECategory:Pages with entries#FAKECategory:Pages with 7 entries#FAKE
- (informalCategory:German informal terms#FAKE, especially predicative) fake, sham, counterfeit
Usage notes
In most cases corresponding to hypothetical English occurrences which would be deemed adjectives, the German is part of a compound with the noun Fake, and the existence of such an adjective is not widely accepted. However at least colloquially, in the fashion scene, in reference to counterfeits, it is a fully declined adjective; cf. woke, and anywhere else where there is a heavy influx of English there may be at least predicative-only use.
Declension
| number & gender | singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
| predicative | er ist fake | sie ist fake | es ist fake | sie sind fake | |
| strong declension (without article) |
nominative | faker | fake | fakes | fake |
| genitive | faken | faker | faken | faker | |
| dative | fakem | faker | fakem | faken | |
| accusative | faken | fake | fakes | fake | |
| weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | der fake | die fake | das fake | die faken |
| genitive | des faken | der faken | des faken | der faken | |
| dative | dem faken | der faken | dem faken | den faken | |
| accusative | den faken | die fake | das fake | die faken | |
| mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | ein faker | eine fake | ein fakes | (keine) faken |
| genitive | eines faken | einer faken | eines faken | (keiner) faken | |
| dative | einem faken | einer faken | einem faken | (keinen) faken | |
| accusative | einen faken | eine fake | ein fakes | (keine) faken | |
Further reading
- “fake” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
Kristang
Noun
fakeCategory:Kristang lemmas#FAKECategory:Kristang nouns#FAKECategory:Kristang entries with incorrect language header#FAKECategory:Pages with entries#FAKECategory:Pages with 7 entries#FAKE
Portuguese
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from EnglishCategory:Portuguese terms borrowed from English#FAKECategory:Portuguese unadapted borrowings from English#FAKECategory:Portuguese terms derived from English#FAKE fake.
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈfej.ki/ [ˈfeɪ̯.ki], /ˈfejk/ [ˈfeɪ̯k]Category:Portuguese 2-syllable words#FAKECategory:Portuguese 1-syllable words#FAKECategory:Portuguese terms with IPA pronunciation#FAKE
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈfejk/ [ˈfeɪ̯k], /ˈfej.ki/ [ˈfeɪ̯.ki]Category:Portuguese 1-syllable words#FAKECategory:Portuguese 2-syllable words#FAKECategory:Portuguese terms with IPA pronunciation#FAKE
- Hyphenation: fake
Adjective
fake (invariable)Category:Portuguese lemmas#FAKECategory:Portuguese adjectives#FAKECategory:Portuguese indeclinable adjectives#FAKECategory:Portuguese terms spelled with K#FAKECategory:Portuguese entries with incorrect language header#FAKECategory:Pages with entries#FAKECategory:Pages with 7 entries#FAKE
- (Internet slangCategory:Portuguese internet slang#FAKE) fake, untrue, not genuine
- Synonym: falso
- Antonyms: verdadeiro, genuíno
Related terms
Noun
fake m (plural fakes)Category:Portuguese lemmas#FAKECategory:Portuguese nouns#FAKECategory:Portuguese countable nouns#FAKECategory:Portuguese terms spelled with K#FAKECategory:Portuguese entries with incorrect language header#FAKECategory:Portuguese masculine nouns#FAKECategory:Pages with entries#FAKECategory:Pages with 7 entries#FAKE
- (Internet slangCategory:Portuguese internet slang#FAKE) a fake account in a social network or other online community; a sock puppet
Further reading
- “fake”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2026