sham

[sham]

noun

1. something that is not what it purports to be; a spurious imitation; fraud or hoax.

   Synonyms: pretense, pretense

2. a person who shams; shammer.

3. a cover or the like for giving a thing a different outward appearance.

   a pillow sham.

adjective

1. pretended; counterfeit; feigned.

   sham attacks; a sham Gothic façade.

   Synonyms: mock, make-believe, spurious
   Antonyms: genuine

2. designed, made, or used as a sham.

verb (used with object)

shammed, shamming 

1. to produce an imitation of.

   Synonyms: imitate

2. to assume the appearance of; pretend to have.

   to sham illness.

   Synonyms: fake, feign

verb (used without object)

shammed, shamming 

1. to make a false show of something; pretend.

sham

/ ʃæm /

noun

1. anything that is not what it purports or appears to be

2. something false, fake, or fictitious that purports to be genuine

3. a person who pretends to be something other than he is

adjective

1. counterfeit or false; simulated

verb

1. to falsely assume the appearance of (something); counterfeit

   to sham illness

Other Word Forms

• unshammed adjective
• shammer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sham¹

First recorded in 1670–80; perhaps an alteration of shame ( def. ); origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of sham¹

C17: perhaps a Northern English dialect variant of _shame

Synonym Study

See false.

Example Sentences

But no one claimed that its success was a sham: “At the end of the day, I’m selling naked girls,” he told The New York Times in 2008.

From Salon

His former partner, Roland Beainy, the more public face of the chain, was detained in May over alleged visa violations and a suspected sham marriage.

From Salon

Myanmar will begin its general elections on 28 December, its military government announced, in a phased poll widely condemned as a sham that will be used to entrench the junta's power.

From BBC

Kiley said in a post on the social media site X that he expected his district to stay the same because voters would “defeat Newsom’s sham initiative and vindicate the will of California voters.”

From Los Angeles Times

Like Donetsk and Luhansk, Putin regards these places as part of Russia, and illegally annexed them three years ago in four referendums widely regarded as a sham.

From BBC

Related Words

• farce 
• forgery 
• fraud 
• hypocrisy 
• mockery 
• travesty