Counterfeit means fake or forged, made to look like the real thing in order to deceive people. Counterfeit money looks like real currency but wasn't made by the government. Counterfeit designer handbags pretend to be expensive brands but are actually cheap imitations. The key to something being counterfeit is the intent to trick people into thinking it's genuine.

Throughout history, counterfeiting has been a serious crime. In ancient times, some counterfeiters were executed because fake coins undermined the entire economy. Today, governments use special paper, watermarks, security threads, and color-shifting ink to make money extremely difficult to counterfeit. The U.S. Secret Service, originally created to fight counterfeiters after the Civil War, still investigates counterfeiting cases.

You'll also hear counterfeit used more broadly to mean fake or insincere. A politician might give a counterfeit smile while greeting voters she doesn't actually care about. Someone might express counterfeit concern when they pretend to worry but don't really mean it. In these cases, the person is trying to pass off fake feelings as real ones.