sham

1 being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials a sofa upholstered in sham leather Synonyms artificial, bogus, dummy, ersatz, factitious, fake, false, faux, imitative, man-made, mimic, mock, pretend, imitation, simulated, substitute, syntheticRelated 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, spuriousNear Antonyms authentic, bona fide, legitimate, true; premium, quality, valuable; pure, unadulteratedAntonyms genuine, natural, real

2 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 bogus, fake, false, forged, inauthentic, phony (also phoney), queer, counterfeit, snide, spurious, unauthenticRelated Words artificial, factitious, imitation, man-made, mimic, mock, simulated, substitute, synthetic; dummy, nonfunctioning, ornamental; cultured, fabricated, manufactured; deceptive, delusive, misleadingNear Antonyms natural; actual, true, validAntonyms authentic, bona fide, genuine, real, unfaked

3 lacking in natural or spontaneous quality the sham friendliness of a salesman trying to sell you something Synonyms affected, assumed, bogus, contrived, factitious, fake, false, feigned, forced, mechanical, mock, phony (also phoney), plastic, pretended, pseudo, put-on, artificial, simulated, spurious, strained, unnaturalRelated Words automatic, canned, concocted, fabricated, hokey, labored, manufactured, pat, unauthentic, unreal, unrealistic; double-dealing, empty, facile, hollow, hypocritical, insincere, left-handed, mealy, mealymouthed, two-faced, unctuous; exaggerated, histrionic, melodramatic, overacted, overdone, theatrical (also theatric); cute, cutesy, genteel, goody-goody, mincing, overrefined, simpering; conventional, formal, impersonal, inflexible, rigid, stiff, stylized, wooden; artful, calculated, conscious, cultivated, deliberate, premeditated, studiedNear Antonyms authentic, bona fide, real, realistic, right, true; honest, ingenuous, sincere, unpretending; easy, effortless, smooth; extemporaneous, impromptu, impulsive, instinctive, unconscious, unprompted, unrehearsed, unstudiedAntonyms artless, genuine, natural, spontaneous, unaffected, uncontrived, unfeigned, unforced

1 a poor, insincere, or insulting imitation of something condemned the rigged election as a total sham Synonyms caricature, cartoon, farce, joke, parody, mockery, travestyRelated Words burlesque, comedy; lampoon, takeoff; counterfeit, fake, feigning, forgery, hoax, humbug, knockoff, phony (also phoney), pretense (or pretence), mockery, simulationNear Antonyms homage, tribute

2 an imitation that is passed off as genuine the bank robber's “gun” turned out to be a sham Synonyms counterfeit, forgery, hoax, humbug, phony (also phoney), fakeRelated Words copycat, knockoff; copy, facsimile, replica, reproduction; dummy, mock-up; fraud, gaff, imposture, spoof, swindle; simulation, synthetic; bastard, brummagem, duffer, shoddyNear Antonyms original

3 one who makes false claims of identity or expertise that supposed French movie star was a sham Synonyms charlatan, fake, faker, fakir, fraud, hoaxer, humbug, mountebank, phony (also phoney), pretender, quack, quacksalver, ringer, impostorRelated Words copycat, imitator, impersonator, mimic; actor, bluffer, counterfeiter, deceiver, dissembler, duper, feigner, misleader, operator, trickster; poseur; cozener, defrauder, dodger, fraudster [chiefly British], scammer, scamster, sharper, sharpie (or sharpy), skinner, swindlerNear Antonyms ace, adept, authority, crackerjack (also crackajack), expert, maestro, master, past master, professional, virtuoso, whiz, wizard

to present a false appearance of shammed a most unconvincing limp just to get sympathy Synonyms act, affect, assume, bluff, counterfeit, dissemble, fake, pass (for), pretend, profess, put on, feign, simulateRelated Words dissimulate, impersonate, let on, masquerade, play, playact, pose; forge, imitate; camouflage, conceal, disguise, mask; feint; malinger