counterfeit

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“
The offensive object may be so close an imitation as to defy any but the closest scrutiny; and yet so soon as the counterfeit is detected, its aesthetic value, and its commercial value as well, declines precipitately.

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Definitions (30)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (7)

  1. transitive verb To make a copy of, usually with the intent to defraud; forge: counterfeits money.
  2. transitive verb To make a pretense of; feign: counterfeited interest in the story.
  3. intransitive verb To carry on a deception; dissemble.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (16)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (4)

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Examples (50)

  • And I had inadvertently chosen a time to cash the check when its worth as a counterfeit could be tested. —  CATCH ME IF YOU CAN - FRANK ABAGNALE JR.
  • The bill turned out to be counterfeit, and was similar to other counterfeit bills that have turned up in the past few days, said Detective Doug Mahlum. —  greatfallstribune.com - Local News
  • I believe that 90\% of XP in Asia is counterfeit - M$ needs to reinvent itself to get the moolah flowing again - albeit really bad software - which apparently very few are buying and hardly anyone is ripping it - counterfeit is the sincerest form of flattery! —  PCLinuxOS-Forums
  • It was also practically impossible to counterfeit, the best efforts of alchemist to convert dross into gold notwithstanding. —  QandO
  • More than one in every 40 pound coins in circulation is counterfeit, the Royal Mint revealed yesterday. —  Daily Express News Feeds
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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

spurious ·  fraudulent ·  feign ·  fictitious ·  bogus ·  fake ·  false ·  phony ·  authentic ·  genuine ·  precious ·  valid
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English countrefeten, from contrefet, made in imitation, from Old French contrefait, past participle of contrefaire, to counterfeit : contre-, counter- + faire, to make (from Latin facere; see dhē- in Indo-European roots).

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English *countrefet, contirfet, adjective, countrcfete, n., from Old French contrefait, modern F. contrefait (= Spanish contrahecho = Portuguese contrafeito = Italian contrafatto), from Middle Latin contrafactus, counterfeit, past participle of contrafacere, later Old French contrefaire, modern F. contrefaire = Provencal contrafar = Old Spanish contrafacer, Spanish contrahacer = Portuguese contrafazer = Italian contraffare, imitate, counterfeit, from Latin contra, against, + facere (later F. faire, etc.), make: see counter-, contra-, and fact, feat. The same radical element -feit occurs also in surfeit, benefit. Cf. counterfeit, v.
  2. from Middle English counterfeten, contrefeten; from the adjective and noun, after Old French contrefaire, past participle contrefait: see counterfeit, adjective and n.
 

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/ˈkaʊntərfɪt/
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