Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To make an imitation or copy of (something), usually with the intent to defraud.
  • intransitive verb To make a pretense of; feign.
  • intransitive verb To carry on a deception; dissemble.
  • intransitive verb To make fraudulent copies of something valuable.
  • adjective Made in imitation of what is genuine with the intent to defraud.
  • adjective Simulated; feigned.
  • noun A fraudulent imitation or facsimile.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To make a semblance of; make or be a copy of; copy; imitate; resemble; be like.
  • Specifically, to make a copy of without authority or right, and with a view to deceive or defraud by passing the copy as original or genuine; forge: as, to counterfeit coin, bank-notes, a seal, a bond, a deed or other instrument in writing, the handwriting or signature of another, etc.
  • To feign; make a pretense of; simulate; pretend; put on a semblance of: as, to counterfeit piety.
  • To make in imitation, or as a counterpart of something else.
  • To feign or pretend to be (what one is not).
  • Synonyms Mimic, Ape, etc. (see imitate), forge, simulate, sham, feign.
  • To feign; dissemble; carry on a fiction or deception.
  • Made in semblance or imitation of an original; imitated; copied; factitious.
  • Specifically, made in imitation of an original, with a view to defraud by passing the false copy as genuine or original; forged; spurious: as, counterfeit coin; a counterfeit bond or deed; a counterfeit bill of exchange.
  • Feigned; simulated; false; hypocritical: as, a counterfeit friend.
  • Counterfeiting; dissembling; cheating.
  • Deformed; unnatural.
  • noun An imitation; a copy; something made in imitation of or strongly resembling another; rarely, a likeness; a portrait; an image.
  • noun Specifically, an imitation or copy designed to pass as an original.
  • noun One who feigns or simulates; a counterfeiter; an impostor.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To carry on a deception; to dissemble; to feign; to pretend.
  • intransitive verb To make counterfeits.
  • noun That which resembles or is like another thing; a likeness; a portrait; a counterpart.
  • noun That which is made in imitation of something, with a view to deceive by passing the false for the true.
  • noun One who pretends to be what he is not; one who personates another; an impostor; a cheat.
  • adjective Representing by imitation or likeness; having a resemblance to something else; portrayed.
  • adjective Fabricated in imitation of something else, with a view to defraud by passing the false copy for genuine or original.
  • adjective Assuming the appearance of something; false; spurious; deceitful; hypocritical.
  • transitive verb To imitate, or put on a semblance of; to mimic.
  • transitive verb To imitate with a view to deceiving, by passing the copy for that which is original or genuine; to forge

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective False, especially of money; intended to deceive or carry appearance of being genuine.
  • adjective Inauthentic
  • noun A non-genuine article; a fake.
  • noun One who counterfeits; a counterfeiter.
  • verb transitive To falsely produce what appears to be official or valid; to produce a forged copy of.
  • verb transitive, obsolete To produce a faithful copy of.
  • verb transitive, obsolete To feign.
  • verb transitive, poker Of a turn or river card, to invalidate a player's hand by making a better hand on the board.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective not genuine; imitating something superior
  • verb make a copy of with the intent to deceive
  • noun a copy that is represented as the original

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[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).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Anglo-Norman countrefait, from continental Old French contrefait.

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Examples

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  • counterfeit: imitation.

    contrahecho: misshapen.

    June 1, 2008