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sham

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of sham

1 being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials

  • a sofa upholstered in sham leather
Synonyms of sham

artificial, bogus, dummy, ersatz, factitious, fake, false, faux, imitation, imitative, man-made, mimic, mock, pretend, simulated, substitute, synthetic
Words Related to sham

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 of sham

authentic, bona fide, legitimate, true

premium, quality, valuable

pure, unadulterated
Antonyms of sham

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 of sham

bogus, counterfeit, fake, false, forged, inauthentic, phony (also phoney), queer, snide, spurious, unauthentic
Words Related to sham

artificial, factitious, imitation, man-made, mimic, mock, simulated, substitute, synthetic

dummy, nonfunctioning, ornamental

cultured, fabricated, manufactured

deceptive, delusive, misleading
Near Antonyms of sham

natural

actual, true, valid
Antonyms of sham

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 of sham

affected, artificial, assumed, bogus, contrived, factitious, fake, false, feigned, forced, mechanical, mock, phony (also phoney), plastic, pretended, pseudo, put-on, simulated, spurious, strained, unnatural
Words Related to sham

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, studied
Near Antonyms of sham

authentic, bona fide, real, realistic, right, true

honest, ingenuous, sincere, unpretending

easy, effortless, smooth

extemporaneous, impromptu, impulsive, instinctive, unconscious, unprompted, unrehearsed, unstudied
Antonyms of sham

artless, genuine, natural, spontaneous, unaffected, uncontrived, unfeigned, unforced

sham

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of sham

1 a poor, insincere, or insulting imitation of something

  • condemned the rigged election as a total sham
Synonyms of sham

caricature, cartoon, farce, joke, mockery, parody, travesty
Words Related to sham

burlesque, comedy

lampoon, takeoff

counterfeit, fake, feigning, forgery, hoax, humbug, knockoff, phony (also phoney), pretense (or pretence), sham, simulation
Near Antonyms of sham

homage, tribute

2 an imitation that is passed off as genuine

  • the diamond turned out to be a sham
Synonyms of sham

counterfeit, fake, forgery, hoax, humbug, phony (also phoney)
Words Related to sham

copycat, knockoff

copy, facsimile, replica, reproduction

dummy, mock-up

fraud, gaff, imposture, spoof, swindle

simulation, synthetic

bastard, brummagem, duffer, shoddy
Near Antonyms of sham

original

3 one who makes false claims of identity or expertise

  • that supposed French movie star was a sham
Synonyms of sham

charlatan, fake, faker, fakir, fraud, hoaxer, humbug, impostor (or imposter), mountebank, phony (also phoney), pretender, quack, quacksalver, ringer
Words Related to sham

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, swindler
Near Antonyms of sham

ace, adept, authority, crackerjack (also crackajack), expert, maestro, master, past master, professional, virtuoso, whiz, wizard

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

sham

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of sham

to present a false appearance of

  • shammed a most unconvincing limp just to get sympathy
Synonyms of sham

act, affect, assume, bluff, counterfeit, dissemble, fake, feign, pass (for), pretend, profess, put on, simulate
Words Related to sham

dissimulate, impersonate, let on, masquerade, play, playact, pose

forge, imitate

camouflage, conceal, disguise, mask

feint

malinger
Phrases Synonymous with sham

make believe

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

Learn More about sham

  1. See words that rhyme with sham Dictionary: Definition of sham Medical Dictionary: Definition of sham Spanish Central: Translation of sham Nglish: Translation of sham for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of sham for Arabic speakers

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