shamnoun [ C usually singular ]
uk/ʃæm/us/ʃæm/disapprovingsomething that is not what it seems to be and is intended to deceive people, or someone who pretends to be something they are not:
It turned out that he wasn't a real doctor at all - he was just a sham.
They claimed that the election had been fair, but really it was a sham.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Faking & pretending
- a wolf in sheep's clothing idiom
- affect
- assume
- believe
- bluff
- changeling
- charlatan
- falsify
- feign
- fraud
- go through the motions idiom
- guise
- phoney
- play at sth
- play possum idiom
- play sth out
- play-acting
- professed
- purport
- quack
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Unpleasant people in general
shamverb [ I or T ]
uk/ʃæm/us/ʃæm/-mm- disapprovingto pretend:
He isn't really upset - he's just shamming.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Faking & pretending
- a wolf in sheep's clothing idiom
- affect
- assume
- believe
- bluff
- changeling
- charlatan
- falsify
- feign
- fraud
- go through the motions idiom
- guise
- phoney
- play at sth
- play possum idiom
- play sth out
- play-acting
- professed
- purport
- quack
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shamadjective
uk/ʃæm/us/ʃæm/disapprovingonly pretending to be real; false:
They made a fortune through some sham property deal.
That jewellery looks sham to me.
She's trapped in a sham (= not good or satisfying) marriage.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Copying and copies
- ape
- blueprint
- carbon copy
- carbon paper
- co-opt
- imitate
- imitation
- imitative
- imitator
- impersonate
- leaf
- lift
- pirate
- plagiarize
- recreate
- reinvent
- replica
- reproduce
- reproduction
- simulation
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Dishonest