Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
😏 Fake or not real 😏 A trick
put-on

put-on

8 7.6
Seems real but is actually false
  • adjective
  • /ˈpʊtˌɑn/
  • Informal
translation icon : fingido
  • Even though he was upset, he put on a cheerful demeanor to hide his true feelings.

Examples

  • "Stop putting on an act," she would say.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Sally didn't believe she had ever really loved her, not deep down, but was putting on all this show for the benefit of the audience.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • A straightforward, honest, pleasant attitude that is easily recognized as sincere and not put on.

    Academic text (1993)

  • But the mood is false; it's too put on, too euphoric, too sudden.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • His smile is a little forced, perhaps put on to appease the studio photographer's exasperation with his natural gravity.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Despite feeling nervous, she was putting on a confident smile to impress her audience.

  • The actor was merely putting on a show, pretending to be someone he was not.

Synonyms

false
vsput-on
263 2.8

Not real and made to trick people

is an adopted trait purposely used to mislead or imitate reality
pretended
vsput-on
4.7

Made to seem real to trick people

is an adopted action or quality purposely meant to mislead
feigned
vsput-on
6.8

Pretended to be true to make others believe it

is an adopted form used to mislead rather than being genuine
sham
vsput-on
6.8

Not real and made to trick people

is an adopted quality presented to trick people not actually real

Antonyms

sincere
239 2.5

Being honest and showing what you really feel

genuine
156 3.2

Truly felt and not fake, for example a smile or apology

How Genuine

genuine
156 3.2
affected
7.5
put-on
  • Informal
8 7.6
phony
  • Informal
220 5.3

Surface Forms

put-on positive

Morphology

put-on = put-on (opaque) = on + put

The adjectival use is a straightforward conversion from the noun 'put-on'.

Etymology

The adjective put-on comes from the same idea: put on is like 'to put on a mask' or 'to put on a show'. So something put-on is not real but adopted for effect, like a fake smile or staged excitement.