Synonyms for bogus
- adjective
Most common
All synonyms
Adjective
1. Fake — counterfeit or fake; not genuine
fake, phony informal US, phoney UK, false, fraudulent, spurious, counterfeit, sham, falsified, fictitious, pseudo, forged, mock, illegitimate, ersatz, feigned, synthetic, unreal, artificial, bastard, unauthentic, pretended, simulated
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Counterfeit or fake; not genuine.
He was arrested for trying to cash a bogus check at the bank.
Example sentences
- fake Many consumer reviews of books on Amazon are fake.
- fraudulent The dictator took power in a fraudulent election.
- counterfeit Lots of things other than money can be counterfeit.
- spurious His books were filled with spurious arguments.
- illegal Do you think that handguns should be made illegal?
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| bogus | rising | |
| fake | rising | |
| fraudulent | steady | |
| counterfeit | rising | |
| spurious | falling | |
| illegal | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- fake1, mock1, sham1
- 5 letters
- false1, phony2
- 6 letters
- forged1, pseudo2, unreal2, phoney2, ersatz2
- 7 letters
- illegal3, bastard2, feigned1
- 8 letters
- spurious3
- 9 letters
- synthetic3, pretended3, simulated4, falsified3
- 10 letters
- artificial4, fraudulent3, fictitious3
- 11 letters
- counterfeit3, unauthentic4
- 12 letters
- illegitimate5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (phony2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- nul
- Italiano
- nullo
- Deutsch
- inexistent