sham
1 of 3noun
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
Oscar Wilde3
: an ornamental covering for a pillow
4
: an imitation or counterfeit purporting to be genuine
5
: a person who shams
sham
2 of 3adjective
1
: not genuine : false, feigned
2
: having such poor quality as to seem false
sham
3 of 3verb
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
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
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. See More
Recent Examples on the Web Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, 11 Aug. 2022 China has dismissed that ruling, which was welcomed by the U.S. and Western allies, as a sham and continues to defy it. Jim Gomez, ajc, 6 Aug. 2022 The four men were convicted of terrorism charges in trials widely denounced as a sham. Hannah Beech, BostonGlobe.com, 29 July 2022 CxL was outlawed in 2021 before the election that gave Ortega another five-year term, in a vote decried by the international community as a sham. Washington Post, 4 July 2022 Western countries have called the convictions a sham and demanded Suu Kyi's release. Reuters, CNN, 22 June 2022 The rumors refused to die, no matter how many times they have been exposed as a sham. Michael Smolenscolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Apr. 2022 The accounts’ first wave of coordinated posts pushed Beijing’s stance that Hong Kong’s Legislative Council elections were legitimate, though critics have called the vote a sham. Steven Lee Myers, ProPublica, 18 Feb. 2022 The accounts’ first wave of coordinated posts pushed Beijing’s stance that Hong Kong’s legislative council elections were legitimate, though critics have called the vote a sham. New York Times, 18 Feb. 2022 Mario Aguilar, STAT, 28 July 2022 Flores’ lawsuit also says this sort of sham interview has happened previously. Brent Schrotenboer, USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2022 The other half experienced a sham procedure that exactly resembled this—getting in the chamber, putting on the mask, and so on—but didn’t actually get the treatment. Adam Popescu, WIRED, 17 Aug. 2022 Zelensky slammed reports Russia is preparing to hold a sham referendum in Luhansk. Kendra Nichols, Washington Post, 8 Aug. 2022 Last month, a tribunal in the same breakaway territory sentenced two British citizens and a Moroccan man to death, a conviction Britain described as the result of a sham trial. Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 15 July 2022 After a sham trial lacking due process and transparency, the Saudi court sentenced him to 20 years in prison plus a 20-year travel ban after his time served. Areej Al-sadhan, CNN, 1 July 2022 Republicans mostly dismissed Thursday's hearings as a sham, partisan and have proved nothing. NBC News, 12 June 2022 The Russian currency is being introduced, and reports mount that a sham referendum could be held to legitimize Russian annexation, some locals say. Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY, 5 May 2022 New York Times, 6 Aug. 2022 The idea of an unadulterated liberty was another sham Shura had fallen for. Sana Krasikov, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2022 This past winter, as the omicron surge made PCR testing nearly impossible, sham testing sites swabbed patients’ noses but returned no results, collecting their data and then their cash. Hannah Zeavin, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 The family fraud ring created sham businesses to get many of the loans, attaching fake payrolls and forged tax returns to the applications. Gregory Yee, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2022 And local officials worry that Russia is going to hold some sham referendum to make its political occupation more permanent. NBC News, 13 Mar. 2022 Gonzales was not trying to overturn the election results through his lawsuit, but asserting that putting up sham candidates represented ballot fraud. Ray Long, chicagotribune.com, 4 Mar. 2022 Flores also contended that the Broncos and Giants conducted sham interviews, Denver’s in 2019 and New York’s during the current hiring cycle. oregonlive, 6 Feb. 2022 Political prisoners routinely face sham legal proceedings and coerced confessions in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2022 See More
Noun
Monica Brown, who served on a school district book review committee in Granbury, has called that process a sham. Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, 11 Aug. 2022 China has dismissed that ruling, which was welcomed by the U.S. and Western allies, as a sham and continues to defy it. Jim Gomez, ajc, 6 Aug. 2022 The four men were convicted of terrorism charges in trials widely denounced as a sham. Hannah Beech, BostonGlobe.com, 29 July 2022 CxL was outlawed in 2021 before the election that gave Ortega another five-year term, in a vote decried by the international community as a sham. Washington Post, 4 July 2022 Western countries have called the convictions a sham and demanded Suu Kyi's release. Reuters, CNN, 22 June 2022 The rumors refused to die, no matter how many times they have been exposed as a sham. Michael Smolenscolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Apr. 2022 The accounts’ first wave of coordinated posts pushed Beijing’s stance that Hong Kong’s Legislative Council elections were legitimate, though critics have called the vote a sham. Steven Lee Myers, ProPublica, 18 Feb. 2022 The accounts’ first wave of coordinated posts pushed Beijing’s stance that Hong Kong’s legislative council elections were legitimate, though critics have called the vote a sham. New York Times, 18 Feb. 2022 Adjective
The company completed a feasibility study of Aviva in 2021 and recently launched a 391-person randomized control trial that will test the application’s efficacy versus a group that is receiving a sham application, containing educational content. Mario Aguilar, STAT, 28 July 2022 Flores’ lawsuit also says this sort of sham interview has happened previously. Brent Schrotenboer, USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2022 The other half experienced a sham procedure that exactly resembled this—getting in the chamber, putting on the mask, and so on—but didn’t actually get the treatment. Adam Popescu, WIRED, 17 Aug. 2022 Zelensky slammed reports Russia is preparing to hold a sham referendum in Luhansk. Kendra Nichols, Washington Post, 8 Aug. 2022 Last month, a tribunal in the same breakaway territory sentenced two British citizens and a Moroccan man to death, a conviction Britain described as the result of a sham trial. Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 15 July 2022 After a sham trial lacking due process and transparency, the Saudi court sentenced him to 20 years in prison plus a 20-year travel ban after his time served. Areej Al-sadhan, CNN, 1 July 2022 Republicans mostly dismissed Thursday's hearings as a sham, partisan and have proved nothing. NBC News, 12 June 2022 The Russian currency is being introduced, and reports mount that a sham referendum could be held to legitimize Russian annexation, some locals say. Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY, 5 May 2022 Verb
Days from the vote, the race is a nail-biter — a sharp contrast with many other African countries, like Uganda and Mali, where once-high democratic hopes have given way to sham votes and military coups. New York Times, 6 Aug. 2022 The idea of an unadulterated liberty was another sham Shura had fallen for. Sana Krasikov, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2022 This past winter, as the omicron surge made PCR testing nearly impossible, sham testing sites swabbed patients’ noses but returned no results, collecting their data and then their cash. Hannah Zeavin, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 The family fraud ring created sham businesses to get many of the loans, attaching fake payrolls and forged tax returns to the applications. Gregory Yee, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2022 And local officials worry that Russia is going to hold some sham referendum to make its political occupation more permanent. NBC News, 13 Mar. 2022 Gonzales was not trying to overturn the election results through his lawsuit, but asserting that putting up sham candidates represented ballot fraud. Ray Long, chicagotribune.com, 4 Mar. 2022 Flores also contended that the Broncos and Giants conducted sham interviews, Denver’s in 2019 and New York’s during the current hiring cycle. oregonlive, 6 Feb. 2022 Political prisoners routinely face sham legal proceedings and coerced confessions in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2022 See More 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
: something that deceives : hoax
2
: something that is claimed to be true or real but which is actually phony
3
: a decorative covering for a pillow
sham
2 of 3adjective
: not real : false
sham concern
sham
3 of 3verb
shammed; shamming
: to act in a deceiving way
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
Liz Kowalczyka 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 2adjective
: not genuine : intended to mislead or deceive : false, illusory
the sale for one dollar was a sham transfer of property
sham 1 of 3
adjective
1
as in faux
being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials a sofa upholstered in sham leather Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- faux
- fake
- synthetic
- simulated
- dummy
- artificial
- false
- mock
- imitation
- bogus
- imitative
- pretend
- manufactured
- ersatz
- factitious
- counterfeit
- mimic
- substitute
- process
- deceptive
- manipulated
- fabricated
- designer
- man-made
- pseudo
- engineered
- fraudulent
- phony
- forged
- concocted
- misleading
- cultured
- doctored
- phoney
- adulterated
- unauthentic
- fudged
- feigned
- spurious
- juggled
- affected
- pinchbeck
- tampered (with)
- brummagem
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- real
- genuine
- true
- legitimate
- natural
- authentic
- pure
- bona fide
- valuable
- quality
- premium
- unadulterated
2
as in fake
being such in appearance only and made or manufactured with the intention of committing fraud street vendors selling sham designer handbags to gullible tourists Synonyms & Similar Words
- fake
- counterfeit
- false
- forged
- phony
- bogus
- phoney
- imitation
- manufactured
- mock
- inauthentic
- spurious
- ornamental
- deceptive
- artificial
- synthetic
- simulated
- unauthentic
- dummy
- snide
- fabricated
- misleading
- queer
- factitious
- substitute
- mimic
- cultured
- nonfunctioning
- man-made
- delusive
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- real
- genuine
- authentic
- true
- bona fide
- natural
- actual
- unfaked
- valid
3
as in mock
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality the sham friendliness of a salesman trying to sell you something Synonyms & Similar Words
- mock
- fake
- false
- pseudo
- strained
- unnatural
- simulated
- mechanical
- pretended
- affected
- phony
- bogus
- artificial
- contrived
- exaggerated
- forced
- assumed
- plastic
- phoney
- feigned
- theatrical
- factitious
- spurious
- put-on
- hollow
- cute
- unreal
- calculated
- theatric
- fabricated
- manufactured
- empty
- pat
- hypocritical
- automatic
- hokey
- deliberate
- concocted
- formal
- insincere
- unrealistic
- labored
- unauthentic
- stiff
- canned
- conventional
- wooden
- overdone
- melodramatic
- facile
- unctuous
- cultivated
- conscious
- two-faced
- histrionic
- impersonal
- simpering
- premeditated
- mealymouthed
- rigid
- mealy
- studied
- stylized
- mincing
- cutesy
- double-dealing
- artful
- overacted
- genteel
- overrefined
- inflexible
- goody-goody
- left-handed
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- genuine
- real
- true
- natural
- unaffected
- spontaneous
- artless
- authentic
- right
- realistic
- bona fide
- sincere
- unfeigned
- honest
- easy
- uncontrived
- smooth
- unforced
- effortless
- impromptu
- unconscious
- ingenuous
- unstudied
- unpretending
- instinctive
- extemporaneous
- impulsive
- unrehearsed
- unprompted
sham
2 of 3noun
1
as in parody
a poor, insincere, or insulting imitation of something condemned the rigged election as a total sham Synonyms & Similar Words
- parody
- joke
- caricature
- farce
- travesty
- hoax
- cartoon
- mockery
- simulation
- phony
- comedy
- burlesque
- fake
- pretense
- counterfeit
- phoney
- forgery
- feigning
- pretence
- humbug
- lampoon
- knockoff
- takeoff
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- tribute
- homage
2
as in hoax
an imitation that is passed off as genuine the diamond turned out to be a sham Synonyms & Similar Words
- hoax
- counterfeit
- phony
- fake
- phoney
- forgery
- copy
- reproduction
- replica
- humbug
- synthetic
- swindle
- knockoff
- copycat
- spoof
- simulation
- bastard
- fraud
- dummy
- imposture
- shoddy
- facsimile
- mock-up
- gaff
- brummagem
- duffer
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- original
3
as in fraud
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise that supposed French movie star was a sham Synonyms & Similar Words
- fake
- fraud
- pretender
- phony
- charlatan
- faker
- quack
- phoney
- impostor
- deceiver
- misleader
- mountebank
- imposter
- ringer
- quacksalver
- humbug
- fakir
- hoaxer
- counterfeiter
- operator
- actor
- mimic
- copycat
- sharper
- dissembler
- imitator
- swindler
- skinner
- poseur
- impersonator
- dodger
- feigner
- defrauder
- trickster
- bluffer
- scammer
- scamster
- fraudster
- duper
- cozener
- sharpie
- sharpy
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- master
- past master
- ace
- expert
- virtuoso
- wizard
- professional
- authority
- maestro
- crackajack
- crackerjack
- whiz
- adept
sham
3 of 3verb
as in to pretend
to present a false appearance of shammed a most unconvincing limp just to get sympathy Synonyms & Similar Words
- pretend
- simulate
- fake
- assume
- act
- feign
- bluff
- counterfeit
- make believe
- affect
- masquerade
- dissemble
- conceal
- put on
- profess
- dissimulate
- pose
- pass (for)
- mask
- disguise
- camouflage
- forge
- feint
- playact
- imitate
- let on
- impersonate
- play
- malinger
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of sham are counterfeit, fake, fraud, humbug, and imposture. While all these words mean "a thing made to seem other than it is," sham applies to fraudulent imitation of a real thing or action.
condemned the election as a sham
In some situations, the words counterfeit and sham are roughly equivalent. However, counterfeit applies especially to the close imitation of something valuable.
20-dollar bills that were counterfeits
The meanings of fake and sham largely overlap; however, 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
While the synonyms fraud and sham are close in meaning, fraud usually implies a deliberate perversion of the truth.
the diary was exposed as a fraud
Although the words humbug and sham have much in common, humbug suggests elaborate pretense usually so flagrant as to be transparent.
creating publicity by foisting humbugs on a gullible public
The words imposture and sham can be used in similar contexts, but 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