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
Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 13 Feb. 2026
Sarah Sherman Samuel transforms high-quality hemp bedding with a tiger illustration—drawn by her son, no less—to make a set of shams perfect for elevating your bedding set with custom-like details.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 10 Feb. 2026
The complete set comes with a cozy bedspread and two matching pillow shams.
—Mariana Best, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Feb. 2026
The set includes two matching shams, comes in 12 colors, and is on sale for up to 80 percent off.
—Rachel Trujillo, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026
Use a quilt for wall art or to craft a headboard, drape textiles over a couch or chair, or use remnants to make pillow shams—the sky's the limit.
—Melissa Breyer, Martha Stewart, 16 Jan. 2026
Huda Fakhreddine
august 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
The set comes with matching pillow shams in every size for a simple bedroom refresh at a budget-friendly price.
—Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 13 Feb. 2026
Sarah Sherman Samuel transforms high-quality hemp bedding with a tiger illustration—drawn by her son, no less—to make a set of shams perfect for elevating your bedding set with custom-like details.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 10 Feb. 2026
The complete set comes with a cozy bedspread and two matching pillow shams.
—Mariana Best, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Feb. 2026
The set includes two matching shams, comes in 12 colors, and is on sale for up to 80 percent off.
—Rachel Trujillo, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026
Use a quilt for wall art or to craft a headboard, drape textiles over a couch or chair, or use remnants to make pillow shams—the sky's the limit.
—Melissa Breyer, Martha Stewart, 16 Jan. 2026
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
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How are the parodies recreated?—
Kate Perez,
USA Today,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Martin’s dry, precise mischief colliding with Short’s elastic characters and musical parodies, plus top-tier musicianship.—
Lucia Cheng,
Des Moines Register,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Each item passes through a multi-step process combining advanced imaging, database cross-references, and final expert verification, a hybrid system that eliminates bias, minimizes error, and safeguards agains increasingly sophisticated counterfeits.—
Tanya Benedicto Klich,
Forbes.com,
16 Jan. 2026
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Do carve out a spot for the Mongkok market, with its colorful juxtaposition of souvenirs, food, fashions — beware of counterfeits, though — with live fish and even birds.—
Tianwei Zhang,
Footwear News,
24 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The frauds have grown nearly in lockstep with the growth of the industry.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
11 Jan. 2026
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There is absolutely no evidence that frauds of this type or anywhere near this scale are happening in any of the other four states, or frankly that there is a large volume of as-yet-undiscovered fraud in Minnesota itself.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Security researchers have uncovered a malicious Chrome and Edge extension called NexShield that pretends to be a fast, privacy-friendly ad blocker.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
16 Feb. 2026
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The story about a woman, who is considered a cursed bride, and her husband, who pretends to be possessed in an attempt to control her, is the first all-Pakistani feature at the Berlin International Film Festival, which has in the past featured Pakistani co-productions.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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This Dickensian vengeance setup gives us an awful lot of people to murder, all caricatures of the elite.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
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His research also confirmed how effective conservative media have been in reducing Democrats to caricatures.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The Los Angeles Times reported that similar threats in multiple states, including Georgia, were traced to Russian domains and labeled politically disruptive hoaxes.—
Zachary Bynum,
CBS News,
18 Nov. 2025
-
In addition to the various homecoming shootings on HBCU campuses, several schools have fallen victim to swatting hoaxes aiming to foster confusion and chaos among the community.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The overwhelming motive for the early fakes was to provide entertainment — about three-quarters of the images in the exhibition were created for this purpose, Rooseboom said.—
Lianne Kolirin,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
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The flurry of non-consensual deep fakes produced on the platform prompted outrage and concern across the globe.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The software simulates wind passing over the avatar, computational fluid dynamics calculate how much resistance there is — and how tweaking a skater’s form alters that.—
Howard Fendrich,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2026
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Most prominently, engineers detected leaking hydrogen during the test, known as a wet dress rehearsal that simulates a launch day countdown.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shams.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shams. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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