1
as in parodies
a poor, insincere, or insulting imitation of something
condemned the rigged election as a total sham
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in counterfeits
an imitation that is passed off as genuine
the diamond turned out to be a sham
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in frauds
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
that supposed French movie star was a sham
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in pretends
to present a false appearance of
shammed a most unconvincing limp just to get sympathy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shams
Mariana Best, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Oct. 2025
This sheet set also comes with shams, all made from cotton percale for a cool, crisp sleep year-round.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 6 Oct. 2025
It’s woven from 100 percent organic cotton, includes a quilt and matching shams, and comes in both dark gray and olive green.
—Rachel Trujillo, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025
From shams to throw pillows, this trick works in every space.
—Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 21 Sep. 2025
Pizuna Cotton Sateen Duvet Cover To continue the all-white hotel aesthetic, choose a white duvet cover and matching pillow shams.
—Brittney Morgan, Travel + Leisure, 25 Aug. 2025
Huda Fakhreddine
august 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
The complete set comes with a cozy bedspread and two matching pillow shams to match.
—Mariana Best, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Oct. 2025
This sheet set also comes with shams, all made from cotton percale for a cool, crisp sleep year-round.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 6 Oct. 2025
It’s woven from 100 percent organic cotton, includes a quilt and matching shams, and comes in both dark gray and olive green.
—Rachel Trujillo, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025
From shams to throw pillows, this trick works in every space.
—Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 21 Sep. 2025
Pizuna Cotton Sateen Duvet Cover To continue the all-white hotel aesthetic, choose a white duvet cover and matching pillow shams.
—Brittney Morgan, Travel + Leisure, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
Her book of creative nonfiction titled Zaman saghir taht shams thaniya (A Small Time Under a Different Sun) was published by Dar al-Nahda, Beirut in 2019.
—Huda Fakhreddine
august 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shams
Noun
-
The moment — delivered by Steinfeld’s character Mary on a humid New Orleans train platform — was clipped, memed and replayed across TikTok, igniting think pieces and parodies alike.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Free speech covers the jokes, the satire, the parodies—even the dumb, crass, or offensive ones.—
Lizz Winstead,
Time,
27 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
While fake goods have exchanged hands in informal markets since ancient times, the growth of online marketplaces has contributed to the rise in counterfeits because of how easy online shopping and selling have become.—
Gabrielle Fonrouge,Paige Tortorelli,
CNBC,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Marq Vision was cofounded in 2020 by Mark Lee, a former McKinsey consultant who holds a Doctor of Law from Harvard, to identify counterfeits in online listings using AI.—
Zinnia Lee,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In the knee-jerk world of modern football, yesterday’s world-beaters are tomorrow’s frauds.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
-
This fan-favorite promotion returns after nearly 10 years away, having been shelved following the exposure of one of the biggest frauds in corporate marketing history.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
After encountering an old friend, Colette, embarrassed about her friend’s success compared to her own, pretends to be a customer at the DMV instead of an employee.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
13 Oct. 2025
-
In a particularly poignant moment in the film, Jiang stands by the window at night and pretends to capture and punch the shadow of a security guard downstairs.—
Yangyang Cheng,
NPR,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Performers milled on the street with bobbing paper mache heads of Uncle Sam and other caricatures.—
Neda Ulaby,
NPR,
6 Oct. 2025
-
The characters are bright, marionette-like caricatures whom the author constructs and moves ostentatiously in full view of the reader, revealing his artistic devices with a sense of absurd, mischievous humor.—
Nelly Klos
September 29,
Literary Hub,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Forgeries, hoaxes, and other types of literary fakery have preoccupied Havens, a rare books and manuscripts curator at the university’s Stern Center for the History of the Book, for many years now.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Frauds, swindles, cons, scams, and deceptions — collectively known as hoaxes.—
Scott Neuman,
NPR,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The offensive passing game benefited with play-action fakes.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
14 Oct. 2025
-
In the decades that followed, Freeman, who died in 2025, assembled a vast array of literary fakes, collecting books whose content is deceiving in nature.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In the primary bath, the space is lined with $750,000 worth of ivory onyx tile featuring a $20,000 Toto Zero-Gravity tub that simulates floating.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
15 Oct. 2025
-
The seats move, wind gets blown at you (something that makes for a particularly unsettling moment when a character is shot in the head and the 4DX system simulates the bullet whizzing into your ear), and lights pop on and off around the auditorium to simulate gunfire and other effects.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shams.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shams. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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