sham

[ sham ]

noun

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

   Synonyms: 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, sham·ming.

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, sham·ming.

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

Derived Forms

• ˈshammer, noun

Other Words From

• un·shammed adjective

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

When they injected the molecule into the stomachs of normal mice, the rodents were able to remember the location of a platform in an underwater maze and find it three times faster than mice that had received sham injections.

From MIT Technology Review

Yet it has repeatedly refused to seriously challenge the administration of President Vladimir Putin and has effectively served to legitimize the Kremlin’s sham democracy.

From Ozy

From that second on, I realized it was all a sham, that he was actually shy, funny, sentimental, a joy to be with.

From Washington Post

Artiles allegedly instructed the sham candidate, who did not live in the Miami-area district, to use the address of a property in Palmetto Bay that Alex Rodriguez still owned, but no longer resided at, according to the affidavit.

From Washington Post

The EPA has turned the entire process into “a sham,” said Lianne Sheppard, a professor of biostatistics and environmental health at the University of Washington.

From ProPublica

Islamist brigades including Suqur al-Sham, a 9,000-strong militia, are openly breaking with Western-favored rebel factions.

From The Daily Beast

Then came the admission of a sham marriage with an immigrant.

From The Daily Beast

Also in 1997, Hayes entered a sham marriage with a Nigerian immigrant, for which she was paid $5,000.

From The Daily Beast

Both Iran and the United States share a common enemy in the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

From The Daily Beast

I remember the first time I heard of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

From The Daily Beast

Part of that idea was sham bric-à-brac, the rest was carte blanche to Messrs. Spick and Span.

From Project Gutenberg

The camping-out at Streetly Wood has annually recurred since that date; the first sham fight took place June 20, 1877.

From Project Gutenberg

If we nevertheless receive them, it is the effect of His bountiful goodness, and not the result of our sham prayer.

From Project Gutenberg

It is full of deceit, sham, and pharisaism—an aggravated counterpart of the outside world.

From Project Gutenberg

The sham patient sprang to the door at the end of the passage, opened it softly, and stood listening.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bogus
• fictitious
• fraudulent
• phony