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noun
1.
something that is not what it purports to be; a spurious imitation; fraud or hoax.
2.
a person who shams; shammer.
3.
a cover or the like for giving a thing a different outward appearance: a pillow sham.
adjective
4.
pretended; counterfeit; feigned: sham attacks; a sham Gothic façade.
5.
designed, made, or used as a sham.
00:10
Sham
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:
| to bark; yelp. |
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
verb (used with object)
6.
to produce an imitation of.
7.
to assume the appearance of; pretend to have: to sham illness.
verb (used without object)
8.
to make a false show of something; pretend.
Origin:
1670–80; origin uncertain
1670–80; origin uncertain
Related forms
un·shammed, adjective
Synonyms
1. pretense. 4. spurious, make-believe, simulated, mock. See false. 6. imitate. 7. feign, fake.
1. pretense. 4. spurious, make-believe, simulated, mock. See false. 6. imitate. 7. feign, fake.
Antonyms
4. genuine.
4. genuine.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To sham
Collins
World English Dictionary
sham (ʃæm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | anything that is not what it purports or appears to be |
| 2. | something false, fake, or fictitious that purports to be genuine |
| 3. | a person who pretends to be something other than he is |
| —adj | |
| 4. | counterfeit or false; simulated |
| —vb , shams, shamming, shammed | |
| 5. | to falsely assume the appearance of (something); counterfeit: to sham illness |
| [C17: perhaps a Northern English dialect variant of | |
| 'shammer | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
sham
1677, "a trick, a hoax, a fraud," perhaps from sham, a northern dialectal variant of shame (q.v.). Sense of "Something meant to be mistaken for something else" is from 1728. The meaning in pillow-sham (1721) is from the notion of "counterfeit." The adj. is attested from 1681;
the verb from 1677. Shamateur "amateur sportsman who acts like a professional" is from 1896.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
cham definition[ʃæm(i)]and chammy; sham; shammy
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
They have the bitterness of a group whose worldview has proven itself to be a sham.
Cigarettes and clothing accounted for more than half the sham gear seized.
Free speech is a sham if you cannot find a domain registrar or web host willing to host your entirely legal speech.
But these violations are committed to gain an on-field advantage in games and can sometimes make a sham of academics.
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