sham
something that is not what it purports to be; a spurious imitation; fraud or hoax.
a person who shams; shammer.
a cover or the like for giving a thing a different outward appearance: a pillow sham.
pretended; counterfeit; feigned: sham attacks; a sham Gothic façade.
designed, made, or used as a sham.
to produce an imitation of.
to assume the appearance of; pretend to have: to sham illness.
to make a false show of something; pretend.
Origin of sham
1synonym study For sham
Other words for sham
| 1 | pretense |
| 4 | spurious, make-believe, simulated, mock |
| 6 | imitate |
| 7 | feign, fake |
Opposites for sham
Other words from sham
- un·shammed, adjective
Words Nearby sham
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use sham in a sentence
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.
The miracle molecule that could treat brain injuries and boost your fading memory | Adam Piore | August 25, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewYet 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 that second on, I realized it was all a sham, that he was actually shy, funny, sentimental, a joy to be with.
Jane Birkin is back with a new album, but her presence is everlasting | Jeff Weiss | March 19, 2021 | Washington PostArtiles 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.
Ex-Florida state senator paid bogus candidate to ‘siphon votes,’ police say, in race GOP narrowly won | Katie Shepherd | March 19, 2021 | Washington PostThe EPA has turned the entire process into “a sham,” said Lianne Sheppard, a professor of biostatistics and environmental health at the University of Washington.
The EPA Refuses to Reduce Pollutants Linked to Coronavirus Deaths | by Lisa Song and Lylla Younes | October 21, 2020 | ProPublica
Islamist brigades including Suqur al-sham, a 9,000-strong militia, are openly breaking with Western-favored rebel factions.
Spies Warned White House: Don’t Hit Al Qaeda in Syria | Shane Harris, Jamie Dettmer | November 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThen came the admission of a sham marriage with an immigrant.
Also in 1997, Hayes entered a sham marriage with a Nigerian immigrant, for which she was paid $5,000.
Both Iran and the United States share a common enemy in the Islamic State of Iraq and al-sham (ISIS).
Iran Orders Elite Troops: Lay Off U.S. Forces in Iraq | Eli Lake | October 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI remember the first time I heard of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-sham (ISIS).
Part of that idea was sham bric-à-brac, the rest was carte blanche to Messrs. Spick and Span.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsThe camping-out at Streetly Wood has annually recurred since that date; the first sham fight took place June 20, 1877.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter ShowellIf we nevertheless receive them, it is the effect of His bountiful goodness, and not the result of our sham prayer.
Mary, Help of Christians | VariousIt is full of deceit, sham, and pharisaism—an aggravated counterpart of the outside world.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander BerkmanThe sham patient sprang to the door at the end of the passage, opened it softly, and stood listening.
The Bag of Diamonds | George Manville Fenn
British Dictionary definitions for sham
/ (ʃæm) /
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
counterfeit or false; simulated
to falsely assume the appearance of (something); counterfeit: to sham illness
Origin of sham
1Derived forms of sham
- shammer, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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