Word Confusion: Fake vs False vs Faux

Posted September 30, 2021 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
4 July 2023

Fake vs false vs faux are fairly interchangeable these days, but if you want to be truly accurate, read on.

Fake is more of a deceptive swindle between people — when you buy that fake Rolex thinking you’re getting an amazing deal — while faux does attempt to deceive but only with appearances, an imitation — a wall finish, an imitation fur . . . and it doesn’t sound as negative as the other two.

False, on the other hand, is not true.

Do take note that when faux is part of a compound adjective, you must use a hyphen, e.g., “the contrived faux-Georgian village of Poundbury” or she “sang . . . in her faux-operatic style” (Faux).

You may want to explore “Factitious vs Fictional vs Fictitious vs Fictive” and/or “Fact versus Factoid“.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Fake	False	Faux
A Speedy 30 Handbag by Louis Vuitton, Berlin, Germany, by O.Horbacz is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — There’s a great side-by-side comparison of a real versus a fake Louis Vuitton at Wiki-How.	False Eyelashes is in the public domain, via Public Domain Pictures.	Limestone False-door and Architrave of Ptahshepses – 5th Dynasty by Andres Rueda was uploaded by Jacopo Werther and is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons, courtesy of the British Museum. — A faux door disappears into the wall.
Part of Grammar:
Adjective ¹; Noun ¹, ²; Verb ¹, intransitive & transitive ² Plural for the noun: fakes Gerund: faking third person present verb: fakes Past tense or past participle: faked Present participle: faking	Adjective	Adjective
Adjective: Not genuine ¹ Counterfeit [Of a person] Claiming to be something that one is not Spurious Noun: A thing that is not genuine ¹ A forgery, counterfeit, or sham Prepare or make (something specious, deceptive, or fraudulent) A person who appears or claims to be something that they are not A spurious report or story [Sports] A simulated play or move intended to deceive an opponent [Nautical; flake] Variant spelling of any complete turn of a rope that has been coiled in a way to ensure easy use ² Any of the various ways in which a rope may be coiled for easy use Verb, intransitive: To pretend something ¹ To fool an opponent Pretend to pass a ball Verb, transitive: Forge or counterfeit (something) ¹ Pretend to feel or suffer from (an emotion or illness) Make (an event) appear to happen [Music; Stage dialogue] Improvise To accomplish by trial and error or by improvising [Often followed by out] To trick or deceive (an opponent) by making a pretend move [Jazz] To improvise [Performance] To play (music) without reading from a score [Nautical; Variant spelling flake] Lay a rope in loose coils to prevent it from tangling ² Lay a sail down in folds on either side of the boom	Not according with truth or fact Incorrect Not according with rules or law Appearing to be the thing denoted Deliberately made or meant to deceive Artificial Feigned Illusory Not actually so [Attrib.] Used in names of plants, animals, and gems that superficially resemble the thing properly so called Treacherous Unfaithful	Made in imitation Artificial Not genuine Fake or false
Examples:
Adjective: They had the best fake designer clothing. She is always expressing fake emotions. Not him! He’s a fake doctor. Noun: The painting was a fake. I felt sure that some of the nuns were fakes. This diamond necklace is a fake. The doctor with the reputed cure for cancer proved to be a fake. That report is a fake. He pulled a fake to win the game. Verb, intransitive: He isn’t really crying, he’s just faking. If you don’t have the answers, fake it. The runner faked left and then cut to the right. Verb, transitive: He faked a report showing nonexistent profits. The woman faked her spouse’s signature. The story was faked a bit to make it more sensational. He had begun to fake a bad stomachache. He faked his own death. He fakes the melody line of a standard tune. I don’t know the job, but I can fake it. The running back faked out the defender with a deft move and scored. He faked an accompaniment really well.	The allegations were false. The test can produce false results. He was accused of false imprisonment. He carried a false passport. Check to see if the trunk has a false bottom. She is wearing the most amazing false eyelashes. That is a horribly false smile. Sunscreens give users a false sense of security. “False oat-grass is one of a number of native grasses found on unimproved grasslands and make excellent shelter and nesting material for field voles” (False Oat-grass). False killer whales are social animals found globally in all tropical and subtropical oceans and generally in deep offshore waters” (False). He’s a false lover.	I only have a string of faux pearls. I suppose PETA would prefer someone wear a faux-fur jacket rather than a mink. Their faux concern for the well-being of the voters didn’t fool many. I really enjoy creating faux finishes.
Derivatives:
Adjective: fake-tanned, faked, fakey Noun: faker, fakery Verb: fake-bake	Adverb: falsely Noun: falsehood, falseness Verb: false-card	Adjective: faux-naif, faux-naïf, fauxnetic Noun: fauxhawk, fauxhemian, fauxlex, fauxmosexual, fauxtatoes, fohawk
Phrasal Verb
fake out fake out someone fake someone out
History of the Word:
Late 18th century, originally slang with an uncertain origin. It is perhaps ultimately related to the German fegen meaning sweep, thrash. Late Middle English, as a verb, is of unknown origin.	Old English fals meaning fraud, deceit, from the Latin falsum meaning fraud, neuter past participle of fallere meaning deceive. It’s reinforced or re-formed in Middle English from the Old French fals, faus meaning false.	French, meaning false.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Fake vs False vs Faux

Apple Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com: fake

“False Killer Whale.” NOAA Fisheries. n.d. Web. 28 Sept 2021. <https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/false-killer-whale>.

“False Oat-grass.” The Wildlife Trusts. n.d. Web. 28 Sept 2021. <https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/grasses-sedges-and-rushes/false-oat-grass>.

“Faux.” Grammarist.com. n.d. Web. 28 Sept 2021. <https://grammarist.com/usage/faux/>.

Merriam-Webster: fake

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