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sham

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noun

sham

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word sham different from other nouns like it?

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

Where would counterfeit be a reasonable alternative to 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

When could fake be used to replace sham?

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

In what contexts can fraud take the place of sham?

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

When is it sensible to use humbug instead of sham?

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

When might imposture be a better fit than sham?

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

Examples of sham in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The high court also presumptively shielded − but without absolute immunity − from charges for official acts such as directing the Justice Department to investigate sham claims of voter fraud. Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 5 Sep. 2024 The first is that sham elections took place in 2014, 2018, and one recently, and in these elections the opposition either boycotted or they were reduced to a hopeless minority. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2024
Noun
His newspaper and the U.S. had denounced the legal proceedings, which saw only two days of hearings, as a sham and have denied the allegations. Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 1 Aug. 2024 The accusations against him were dismissed by the U.S. government as baseless, and his trial was widely criticized as a sham. Nik Popli, TIME, 1 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for sham 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sham.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Thesaurus Entries Near sham

Cite this Entry

“Sham.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sham. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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