Fake

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For other uses, see Fake (disambiguation).
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Fake means not real. For example, a document or other object created to look like a real object that exists or could exist, or a performance where an event is played, or untrue statements. Or a person who tries to be someone they're not by dressing and acting differently from their true selves.

Applications include:

  • fun, art, use as a toy
    • for example, a film or play shows fake events, where actors show fake emotions, and where fake objects are used
  • an insult used to describe a person who lies, pretends to be something they are not, does not have an opinion of their own or pretends to like things he or she does not
  • deception
  • the same purpose (partly or fully) as the real thing

Reasons for using a fake object instead of the real thing include:

  • the real thing does not exist, including:
    • a document trying to prove something which is not true
    • a fantasy object
  • a fake version of an object may be:
    • more easily available
    • less expensive
    • less dangerous (e.g. a toy weapon, or a weapon prop)
    • less heavy
    • not requiring to kill an animal (meat analogue, imitation fur)
    • legal while the real thing is illegal
    • not requiring a license
  • decoys of a military target either require the extra effort to distinguish them from the real thing or make destruction less efficient by the need to destruct the decoys too; decoys are less expensive than the real thing; especially for missiles it is also important that they are less heavy; also they may be inflatable and therefore before deployment have a small volume; in the case of arms limitation agreements an advantage is also that they typically are not limited.

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