sham

1 of 3

noun

ˈsham 

1

: a trick that deludes : hoax

feared that the deal was a sham

2

: cheap falseness : hypocrisy

saw through the hollowness, the sham, the silliness of the empty pageant

—Oscar Wilde

3

: an ornamental covering for a pillow

4

: an imitation or counterfeit purporting to be genuine

5

: a person who shams

sham

2 of 3

adjective

1

: not genuine : false, feigned

2

: having such poor quality as to seem false

sham

3 of 3

verb

shammed; shamming

transitive verb

: to go through the external motions necessary to counterfeit

intransitive verb

: to act intentionally so as to give a false impression : feign

shammer

ˈsha-mər 

noun

Synonyms

Noun

• caricature
• cartoon
• farce
• joke
• mockery
• parody
• travesty

Adjective

• artificial
• bogus
• dummy
• ersatz
• factitious
• fake
• false
• faux
• imitation
• imitative
• man-made
• mimic
• mock
• pretend
• simulated
• substitute
• synthetic

Verb

• act
• affect
• assume
• bluff
• counterfeit
• dissemble
• fake
• feign
• pass (for)
• pretend
• profess
• put on
• simulate

Choose the Right Synonym for sham

Noun

imposture, fraud, sham, fake, humbug, counterfeit mean a thing made to seem other than it is.

imposture applies to any situation in which a spurious object or performance is passed off as genuine.

their claim of environmental concern is an imposture

fraud usually implies a deliberate perversion of the truth.

the diary was exposed as a fraud

sham applies to fraudulent imitation of a real thing or action.

condemned the election as a sham

fake implies an imitation of or substitution for the genuine but does not necessarily imply dishonesty.

these jewels are fakes; the real ones are in the vault

humbug suggests elaborate pretense usually so flagrant as to be transparent.

creating publicity by foisting humbugs on a gullible public

counterfeit applies especially to the close imitation of something valuable.

20-dollar bills that were counterfeits

Verb

assume, affect, pretend, simulate, feign, counterfeit, sham mean to put on a false or deceptive appearance.

assume often implies a justifiable motive rather than an intent to deceive.

assumed an air of cheerfulness around the patients

affect implies making a false show of possessing, using, or feeling.

affected an interest in art

pretend implies an overt and sustained false appearance.

pretended that nothing had happened

simulate suggests a close imitation of the appearance of something.

cosmetics that simulate a suntan

feign implies more artful invention than pretend, less specific mimicry than simulate.

feigned sickness

counterfeit implies achieving the highest degree of verisimilitude of any of these words.

an actor counterfeiting drunkenness

sham implies an obvious falseness that fools only the gullible.

shammed a most unconvincing limp

Examples of sham in a Sentence

Noun

He claims that the trial was a sham.

Their marriage was a sham.

Many people believed he could help them, but I knew he was a sham.

She exposed their sham and hypocrisy.

Adjective

a sofa upholstered in sham leather

street vendors selling sham designer handbags to gullible tourists

Verb

She wasn't really hurt; she was only shamming.

He was shamming illness to avoid work.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The elections promised by the junta, slated for 2025, have also been denounced both domestically and internationally as a sham that would grant the junta the guise of legitimacy but offer little actual democracy. —Koh Ewe, TIME, 1 Nov. 2024

The 2023 trial that led to his death sentence had been widely condemned as a sham by Germany, the United States and multiple international human rights organizations. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024

Adjective

Western leaders were right not to congratulate Saied on his sham victory. —Sarah E. Yerkes, Foreign Affairs, 4 Nov. 2024

Others are satiric vignettes—pointed takedowns of sham humanitarians, sham foreign journalists, sham white saviors and their sham schemes to save the continent—whose villains can read more like stock inventions than like surprising ones. —Alexis Okeowo, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

perhaps from English dialect sham shame, alteration of English shame

First Known Use

Noun

1677, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1681, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1702, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Kids Definition

sham

1 of 3 noun

ˈsham 

1

: a trick that deceives : hoax

2

: something resembling an article of personal or household linen and used in place of or over it

3

: an imitation or counterfeit giving the impression of being real

sham

2 of 3 verb

shammed; shamming

: to act in a deceiving way

sham

3 of 3 adjective

: not real : false

sham pearls

Medical Definition

sham

adjective

ˈsham 

: being a treatment or procedure that is performed as a control and that is similar to but omits a key therapeutic element of the treatment or procedure under investigation

sham surgery, in which doctors make an incision in a patient's knee and manipulate the joint, but don't clean out fluid, debris, and torn cartilage

—Liz Kowalczyk

a sham injection of saline solution

Legal Definition

sham

1 of 2 noun

ˈsham 

: something that is false, deceptive, misleading, or otherwise not genuine

sham

2 of 2 adjective

: not genuine : intended to mislead or deceive : false, illusory

the sale for one dollar was a sham transfer of property