forgery

forgery — noun

1. a document, artwork, banknote, or signature that someone fakes and passes off as

1.nounB2
Definition

a document, artwork, banknote, or signature that someone fakes and passes off as real to trick other people

Example

The museum discovered that the painting was a forgery, not a real Van Gogh.

passive: discovered [sth] was a forgery

Xiu examined the signature carefully and declared it a forgery.

declare [sth] a forgery

Common collocations
  • a crude forgery
  • a clever forgery
  • detect a forgery
  • spot a forgery
  • forgery of a document
Synonyms
  • fake

    broader and less formal; can refer to any imitation, not necessarily a document or artwork

  • counterfeit

    specifically describes fake money, goods, or documents made to look genuine for fraud

  • copy

    neutral term that does not imply illegality

Antonyms
  • original

    the authentic work or document created by the real artist or author

  • authentic piece

    an item that has been verified as genuine

Grammar Patterns

a forgery

the forgery

forgeries (plural)

Usage Note

Countable when referring to an individual fake object ('a forgery' / 'forgeries'). Distinguish from 'counterfeit', which is generally used for fake money or brand-name goods, while 'forgery' covers documents, signatures, and art.

Common Mistakes

The signature was a forgery crime.
The signature was a forgery.
The word 'forgery' already means a fake copy; adding 'crime' after it is redundant when referring to the object.
The police found a forgery of painting.
The police found a forgery of a painting.
The preposition 'of' must be followed by an article or determiner before the noun.

2. the criminal act of making illegal copies of documents, money, paintings, or sig

2.nounB2
Definition

the criminal act of making illegal copies of documents, money, paintings, or signatures in order to cheat other people

Example

Ife was arrested and charged with forgery after police found fake checks in her apartment.

passive: charged with forgery

The company lost thousands because an employee used forgery to create fake payment orders.

collocation: use forgery to [verb]

Common collocations
  • commit forgery
  • convicted of forgery
  • charged with forgery
  • forgery of documents
  • forgery ring
Synonyms
  • counterfeiting

    narrower; specifically refers to making fake money or goods for sale

  • fraud

    broader; any deception carried out for financial or personal gain

  • falsification

    more formal; altering existing documents rather than creating new fakes

Grammar Patterns

forgery (no article)

forgery of [something]

[verb] + [someone] + for + forgery

Usage Note

Uncountable when referring to the crime itself ('charged with forgery'). When specifying what was forged, use the pattern 'forgery of + noun' (e.g. 'forgery of documents'). This sense often appears in formal legal language and news reports.

Common Mistakes

He was arrested for making a forgery.
He was arrested for forgery.
To refer to the crime, use 'forgery' without an article; it is uncountable in this sense.
She committed a forgery of passports.
She committed forgery of passports.
When describing the crime, 'forgery' is uncountable and does not take 'a'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Forgery', 'fake', 'counterfeit', and 'copy' all describe things that are not genuine, but they differ in legal weight and scope. 'Copy' is neutral — it simply means something made to look like another thing, without implying any illegality. 'Fake' is an informal, broad term that can describe anything from a fake smile to a fake painting; it carries a negative judgment but is not a legal category. 'Counterfeit' is narrower and more formal: it refers specifically to fake money, brand-name goods (handbags, watches), or official documents made to defraud. 'Forgery' is the most legally specific of the four — it is used almost exclusively for documents, signatures, and artworks that have been falsified with criminal intent. You might call a knock-off handbag a 'fake' or a 'counterfeit', but not a 'forgery'. Conversely, a fake passport is always a 'forgery' and only informally a 'fake'.

fake ↗counterfeitforgery ↗copy ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • forgery ring
  • forgery case
  • forgery charge

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Derived from the verb 'forge' (to shape metal by heating and hammering), which came into English from Old French 'forgier', meaning 'to make or construct'. Old French took it from Latin 'fabricare', meaning 'to build or fashion'. By the late 1500s, 'forge' had developed the criminal sense of 'to make a false copy in order to cheat', and 'forgery' emerged as the noun for both the fake object and the crime itself.