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

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.

Read more on 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.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

If Hamas, like the insolvent card player, were eliminated, the “process” would be revealed as a sham.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The group then arranged sham marriages for the men and convinced them to hand over control of their finances, the Investigative Committee said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Families continue to search for or bury relatives killed in the clashes between the security forces and opposition supporters who denounced the poll as a sham.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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