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Counterfeit vs Improper - What's the difference?

counterfeit | improper | Related terms |

Counterfeit is a related term of improper.


In obsolete|lang=en terms the difference between counterfeit and improper

is that counterfeit is (obsolete) to feign; to mimic while improper is (obsolete) to behave improperly.

As adjectives the difference between counterfeit and improper

is that counterfeit is false, especially of money; intended to deceive or carry appearance of being genuine while improper is unsuitable to needs or circumstances; inappropriate; inapt.

As verbs the difference between counterfeit and improper

is that counterfeit is to falsely produce what appears to be official or valid; to produce a forged copy of while improper is (obsolete|transitive) to appropriate; to limit.

As a noun counterfeit

is a non-genuine article; a fake.

counterfeit

English

Adjective

(-)
  • False, especially of money; intended to deceive or carry appearance of being genuine.
    • This counterfeit watch looks like the real thing, but it broke a week after I bought it.
  • Inauthentic.
    • counterfeit sympathy
  • Assuming the appearance of something; deceitful; hypocritical.
  • * Shakespeare
    • an arrant counterfeit rascal

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A non-genuine article; a fake.
  • *c.1597 William Shakespeare, Henry IV part I, Act II, scene 4:
    • Never call a true piece of gold a counterfeit .
  • * Macaulay
    • Some of these counterfeits are fabricated with such exquisite taste and skill, that it is the achievement of criticism to distinguish them from originals.
  • One who counterfeits; a counterfeiter.
  • (obsolete) That which resembles another thing; a likeness; a portrait; a counterpart.
  • * William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens
    • Thou drawest a counterfeit / Best in all Athens.
  • * 1590 Edmund Spenser, Faerie Queene Book III, canto VIII:
    • Even Nature's self envied the same, / And grudged to see the counterfeit should shame / The thing itself.
  • (obsolete) An impostor; a cheat.
  • * c.1597 William Shakespeare, Henry IV part I, Act V, scene 4
    • I fear thou art another counterfeit ; / And yet, in faith, thou bear'st thee like a king.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To falsely produce what appears to be official or valid; to produce a forged copy of.
    • to counterfeit the signature of another, coins, notes, etc.
  • (obsolete) To produce a faithful copy of.
  • *
  • (obsolete) To feign; to mimic.
    • to counterfeit the voice of another person
  • * Oliver Goldsmith, The Village Schoolmaster
    • Full well they laughed with counterfeited glee / At all his jokes, for many a joke had he.
  • Of a turn or river card, to invalidate a player's hand by making a better hand on the board.

    • improper

    English

    Alternative forms

    * impropre (obsolete)

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • unsuitable to needs or circumstances; inappropriate; inapt
  • Not in keeping with conventional mores or good manners; indecent or immodest
  • Not according to facts; inaccurate or erroneous
  • Not consistent with established facts; incorrect
  • Not properly named; See, for example, improper fraction
  • (obsolete) Not specific or appropriate to individuals; general; common.
  • * J. Fletcher
    • Not to be adorned with any art but such improper ones as nature is said to bestow, as singing and poetry.

    Derived terms

    * improper divisor * improper face * improper fit * improper fraction * improper integral * improper motion * improper node * improper orthogonal transformation * improper rotation * improper use * improper workmanship

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To appropriate; to limit.
  • * Jewel
    • He would in like manner improper and inclose the sunbeams to comfort the rich and not the poor.
  • (obsolete) To behave improperly
    • (Webster 1913)