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counterfeit

Syllabification: (coun·ter·feit)

Pronunciation: /ˈkountərˌfit/

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Definition of counterfeit

adjective

made in exact imitation of something valuable or important with the intention to deceive or defraud:two men were remanded on bail on a charge of passing counterfeit $10 bills
pretended; sham:a counterfeit image of reality

noun

a fraudulent imitation of something else; a forgery:he knew the tapes to be counterfeits

verb

[with object]

imitate fraudulently:my signature is extremely hard to counterfeit
pretend to feel or possess (an emotion or quality):no pretense could have counterfeited such terror
literary resemble closely:sleep counterfeited Death so well

Derivatives

counterfeiter

Origin:

Middle English (as a verb): from Anglo-Norman French countrefeter, from Old French contrefait, past participle of contrefaire, from Latin contra- 'in opposition' + facere 'make'

Spell counterfeit with -eit at the end.

counterfeit in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of counterfeit in the British & World English dictionary

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