sham
Americannoun
adjective
-
pretended; counterfeit; feigned.
sham attacks; a sham Gothic façade.
- Synonyms:
- mock, make-believe, spurious
- Antonyms:
- genuine
-
designed, made, or used as a sham.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
anything that is not what it purports or appears to be
-
something false, fake, or fictitious that purports to be genuine
-
a person who pretends to be something other than he is
adjective
verb
Related Words
See false.
Other Word Forms
- shammer noun
- unshammed adjective
Etymology
Origin of sham
First recorded in 1670–80; perhaps an alteration of shame ( def. ); origin uncertain
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Marcos is facing a public firestorm over sham infrastructure projects meant to control flooding in the archipelago country, where typhoon-driven rains submerged entire towns last year.
From Barron's
He, his employer and the US authorities denounced the case as a sham.
From BBC
It allows authorities to deny treaty benefits if offshore investment structures are deemed to be sham entities with little commercial substance - even when investors hold valid documentation.
From BBC
Falsified images and propaganda have been misleading people to worse ends for many years, but these recent shams are evidence of a culture-wide abandonment of a common reality.
From Salon
The tribunal found she had never been presented with the reasons for her suspension and that the trust had instead "built up a sham case" against her.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
