sham

American  

[sham] / ʃæm /

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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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adjective

1. counterfeit or false; simulated

verb

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

   to sham illness

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

But the marriage turned out to be a sham.

From The Wall Street Journal

To disrupt that message, West suggests unmasking the obvious fact that the content creators themselves are con artists selling a sham product.

From Salon

Cherfilus-McCormick proclaimed her innocence, calling the indictment “an unjust, baseless, sham.”

From The Wall Street Journal

In January 2024, Hasina won an unprecedented fourth term as prime minister in an election widely decried by critics as being a sham and boycotted by the main opposition.

From BBC

Green China is mostly a sham—but it is time for the West to emulate its real playbook: ramp up energy use and nuclear R&D.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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