fugazi

7 synonyms and 2 antonyms for fugazi, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Adjective — Fake, counterfeit or not what it claims to be.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

fake con

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

counterfeit bogus sham illusion

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

phoney

Synonyms by Meaning

1. adjective slang

Fake, counterfeit or not what it claims to be.

“The watch he was selling was fugazi.”

counterfeit phoney bogus fake

Opposites

genuine authentic

2. noun slang

Something worthless or illusory, presented as though it were real.

“He described the whole scheme as a fugazi built on borrowed money.”

sham con illusion

How to use fugazi

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

it's fugazi fugazi diamonds totally fugazi

American slang, strongly associated with crime films and Wall Street talk. It sounds knowing and a little theatrical rather than neutral.

Etymology

Origin unknown; a number of possibilities have been suggested: * One theory is that it is a corruption of French fougasse (“type of land mine”); flame fougasses were used extensively in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. * Less plausibly, it might be from English fugacious (“fleeting”) or cognates such as Italian fugace (“fl...

Full origin of fugazi →

Frequently asked questions

What does fugazi mean?

It means fake or counterfeit. Calling an object fugazi says it is a forgery, and calling a situation fugazi says it is not what it appears to be.

Where does the word fugazi come from?

Its origin is genuinely uncertain. Several explanations circulate, including military slang and Italian American speech, but none is established, so the honest answer is that nobody knows.

Is fugazi the same as phoney?

They mean much the same thing, but fugazi is rarer and more colourful, and it usually describes objects or deals rather than people. Phoney is the neutral everyday word and applies equally to a person's manner.

People also searched

fake genuine con authentic illusion sham counterfeit bogus

Nearby words

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