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sham - 9 dictionary results
sham
[sham] 
noun, adjective, verb, shammed, sham⋅ming.–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. |
–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; orig. uncert.
1670–80; orig. uncert.
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. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To sham
| sham (shām) n.
v. shammed, sham·ming, shams v. tr. To put on the false appearance of; feign: "shamming insanity to get his tormentors to leave him alone" (John Wain). v. intr. To assume a false appearance or character; dissemble. [Perhaps dialectal variant of shame.] sham'mer n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Sham
Sham\, n. [Originally the same word as shame, hence, a disgrace, a trick. See Shame, n.]1. That which deceives expectation; any trick, fraud, or device that deludes and disappoint; a make-believe; delusion; imposture, humbug. "A mere sham." --Bp. Stillingfleet. Believe who will the solemn sham, not I. --Addison. 2. A false front, or removable ornamental covering. Pillow sham, a covering to be laid on a pillow.Sham
Sham\, a. False; counterfeit; pretended; feigned; unreal; as, a sham fight. They scorned the sham independence proffered to them by the Athenians. --Jowett (Thucyd)Sham
Sham\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shammed; p. pr. & vb. n. Shamming.]1. To trick; to cheat; to deceive or delude with false pretenses. Fooled and shammed into a conviction. --L'Estrange. 2. To obtrude by fraud or imposition. [R.] We must have a care that we do not . . . sham fallacies upon the world for current reason. --L'Estrange. 3. To assume the manner and character of; to imitate; to ape; to feign. To sham Abram or Abraham, to feign sickness; to malinger. Hence a malingerer is called, in sailors' cant, Sham Abram, or Sham Abraham.Sham
Sham\, v. i. To make false pretenses; to deceive; to feign; to impose. Wondering . . . whether those who lectured him were such fools as they professed to be, or were only shamming. --Macaulay.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : sham
Spanish:
farsa, simulacro,
German:
die Täuschung,
Japanese:
見せかけ
sham (n.)
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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: sham
Pronunciation: 'sham
Function: noun
: something that is false, deceptive, misleading, or otherwise not genuine
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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