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

Last week, federal authorities arrested eight people and charged 15 in an alleged scheme to steal more than $50 million in healthcare funds by running sham hospice facilities across Southern California.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

The whole thing is a sham, mockery,” he said.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026

Treated mice had lower levels of collagen, a major component of scar tissue, than untreated mice or those that underwent a sham procedure in which the intestine was cut and reconnected without removing tissue.

From Science Daily • Mar. 18, 2026

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, were detained in January 2025 while travelling, and later sentenced to 10 years in prison in what their family called a "sham trial".

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

She felt under her hand the black-stained varnished pine of the banisters, vaguely neo-Gothic, immovably solid and sham.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

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