MEANING
1. To make an imitation intended to pass for something genuine.
2. To pretend to a state, feeling, or appearance one does not genuinely possess.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- counterfeit a signature
- counterfeit money
On the page
The clerk counterfeited the signature beneath the altered account.
They discovered who had counterfeited the seal.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- counterfeit
- Past tense
- counterfeited
- Past participle
- counterfeited
- Present participle
- counterfeiting
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- counterfeit
- Present continuous
- am/is/are counterfeiting
- Present perfect
- have/has counterfeited
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been counterfeiting
- Past
- counterfeited
- Past continuous
- was/were counterfeiting
- Past perfect
- had counterfeited
- Past perfect continuous
- had been counterfeiting
- Future
- will counterfeit
- Future continuous
- will be counterfeiting
- Future perfect
- will have counterfeited
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been counterfeiting
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: counterfeit; counterfeits; counterfeited; counterfeited; counterfeiting Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: counterfeits.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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