counterfeit

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈkaʊntɚfɪt/ UK /ˈkaʊntəfɪt/ See IPA manual

adj noun verb

Meanings

1

adj
made in imitation to deceive; a forgery

The cashier spotted a counterfeit bill among the takings.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · made in imitation to... fake forged bogus fraudulent spurious sham imitation

Opposites

genuine authentic real original

Word family

Derived forms counterfeitercounterfeiting

Related forms counter feat feature fact

Etymology

From Old French 'contrefait' ('imitated'), past participle of 'contrefaire' ('to imitate'), from 'contre-' ('against') plus 'faire' ('to make'), from Latin 'contra facere'.

contrefait Old French facere Latin

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Actions & Processes

# counterfeit

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj, noun, verb
**IPA (US):** ˈkaʊntɚfɪt
**IPA (UK):** ˈkaʊntəfɪt

## Meanings
1. made in imitation to deceive; a forgery

## Examples
- The cashier spotted a counterfeit bill among the takings.

## Synonyms
- fake
- forged
- bogus
- fraudulent
- spurious
- sham
- imitation

## Antonyms
- genuine
- authentic
- real
- original

## Derived Forms
- counterfeiter
- counterfeiting

## Related Forms
- counter
- feat
- feature
- fact

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: contrefait
- Root: facere

## Etymology
From Old French 'contrefait' ('imitated'), past participle of 'contrefaire' ('to imitate'), from 'contre-' ('against') plus 'faire' ('to make'), from Latin 'contra facere'.

## AI Etymology
Counterfeit is from Old French 'contrefait' ('imitated'), past participle of 'contrefaire' ('to imitate'), from 'contre-' ('against') plus 'faire' ('to make'), from Latin 'contra facere'. In present-day use, it means made in imitation to deceive; a forgery. Derived formations include counterfeiter and counterfeiting. Related vocabulary includes counter, feat, feature, and fact.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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counterfeit

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