Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

1

sham

play
noun \ˈsham\

Definition of sham

  1. 1 :  a trick that deludes :  hoax feared that the deal was a sham

  2. 2 :  cheap falseness :  hypocrisy saw through the hollowness, the sham, the silliness of the empty pageant — Oscar Wilde

  3. 3 :  an ornamental covering for a pillow

  4. 4 :  an imitation or counterfeit purporting to be genuine

  5. 5 :  a person who shams

See sham defined for English-language learners

See sham defined for kids

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?
alt-594ab41a604d2
Trending: Kim and Kanye Might Have Hired a Surrogate Mother
alt-594d2b6325245
'Pride': The Word That Went From Vice to Strength
istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Examples of sham in a Sentence

  1. He claims that the trial was a sham.

  2. Their marriage was a sham.

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

  4. She exposed their sham and hypocrisy.

Origin and Etymology of sham

perhaps from English dialect sham shame, alteration of English shame


First Known Use: 1677

sham Synonyms

Synonyms
caricature, cartoon, farce, joke, parody, mockery, travesty
Related Words
burlesque, comedy; lampoon, takeoff; counterfeit, fake, feigning, forgery, hoax, humbug, knockoff, phony (also phoney), pretense (or pretence), mockery, simulation
Near Antonyms
homage, tribute

Synonym Discussion of sham

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

Other Household Terms

cruet, curiosity, duvet, fiasco, taper, valance, whatnot

2

sham

adjective

Definition of sham

  1. 1 :  not genuine :  false, feigned

  2. 2 :  having such poor quality as to seem false

See sham defined for English-language learners

Examples of sham in a Sentence

  1. a sofa upholstered in sham leather

  2. street vendors selling sham designer handbags to gullible tourists

1681

First Known Use of sham

1681

sham Synonyms

Synonyms
artificial, bogus, dummy, ersatz, factitious, fake, false, faux, imitative, man-made, mimic, mock, pretend, imitation, simulated, substitute, synthetic
Antonyms
genuine, natural, real
Related Words
cultured, manufactured, process; unauthentic; adulterated, designer, doctored, engineered, fudged, juggled, manipulated, tampered (with); concocted, fabricated; counterfeit, deceptive, forged, fraudulent, misleading, phony (also phoney); affected, brummagem, feigned, pinchbeck, pseudo, spurious
Near Antonyms
authentic, bona fide, legitimate, true; premium, quality, valuable; pure, unadulterated
3

sham

verb

Definition of sham

shammed

;

shamming
  1. transitive verb

  2. :  to go through the external motions necessary to counterfeit

  3. intransitive verb

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

shammer

play \ˈsha-mər\ noun

See sham defined for English-language learners

Examples of sham in a Sentence

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

  2. He was shamming illness to avoid work.

1702

First Known Use of sham

1702

sham Synonyms

Synonyms
act, affect, assume, bluff, counterfeit, dissemble, fake, pass (for), pretend, profess, put on, feign, simulate
Related Words
dissimulate, impersonate, let on, masquerade, play, playact, pose; forge, imitate; camouflage, conceal, disguise, mask; feint; malinger

Synonym Discussion of sham

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

SHAM Defined for English Language Learners

sham

play
noun

Definition of sham for English Language Learners

  • : something that is not what it appears to be and that is meant to trick or deceive people

  • : someone who deceives people by pretending to be a particular kind of person, to have a particular skill, etc.

  • : words or actions that are not sincere or honest

sham

adjective

Definition of sham for English Language Learners

  • : not real

sham

verb

Definition of sham for English Language Learners

  • : to act in a way that is meant to trick or deceive people

SHAM Defined for Kids

1

sham

play
noun \ˈsham\

Definition of sham for Students

  1. 1 :  something that deceives :  hoax

  2. 2 :  something that is claimed to be true or real but which is actually phony

  3. 3 :  a decorative covering for a pillow

2

sham

play
adjective

Definition of sham for Students

  1. :  not real :  false sham concern

3

sham

play
verb

Definition of sham for Students

shammed

;

shamming

  1. :  to act in a deceiving way

Medical Dictionary

sham

play
adjective \ˈsham\

Medical Definition of sham

  1. :  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

Law Dictionary

1

sham

play
noun \ˈsham\

Legal Definition of sham

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

2

sham

adjective

Legal Definition of sham

  1. :  not genuine :  intended to mislead or deceive :  false, illusory the sale for one dollar was a sham transfer of property

Learn More about sham

  1. See words that rhyme with sham Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for sham Spanish Central: Translation of sham Nglish: Translation of sham for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of sham for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up sham? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

argy-bargy

play

a lively discussion

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. surrogate mother From TMZ to the dictionary.

  2. zealot A fanatical partisan

  3. stonewall to be uncooperative, obstructive, or evasive

  4. scurrilous Containing obscenities, abuse, or slander

  5. depose That word might not mean what you think it means.

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

sham

WORD GAMES

Take a 3-minute break and test your skills!

  • istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
  • Which is a synonym of garner?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Add Diction

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-594d2b6325245
'Pride': The Word That Went From Vice to Strength

Do you take pride in Pride?

image599301899
Pink: The Color that Will Change Your Life

From Fuchsia to Baker-Miller Pink

image2144101468
That Sucks Word Alternatives

Your day is the worst. Your vocabulary is the best.

alt-5931949575ca5
'All the Feels,' All the Time

Once more, with 'feels'

Ask the Editors

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

serial-comma
The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Summer's first WOTD quiz.

Take the quiz
alt-5941ad7527c3c
Yearbook Superlatives Quiz

Is that your picture under "Largest Vocabulary"?

Take the quiz
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

Take the quiz
Add Diction
Add Diction

Build a chain of words by adding one letter at a time.

Play the game
Examples: sham in a Sentence
Tip: Synonym Guide