1
as in faux
being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials
a sofa upholstered in sham leather
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in counterfeit
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 & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in mock
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality
the sham friendliness of a salesman trying to sell you something
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in parody
a poor, insincere, or insulting imitation of something
condemned the rigged election as a total sham
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hoax
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 fraud
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 to pretend
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 sham
Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2025
Up until days ago, the ICRC had been the only lifeline for these political prisoners, whose sham trial began two months ago.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
Nataliya Vasilyeva, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2025
Crisp white bedding with a vibrant yellow border and matching shams contrast the cool aquatic blues of a beachy bedroom.
—Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sham
Adjective
Prosecutors said restaurant owners and others bribed Feeding Our Future employees to get the organization to sponsor sham distribution sites.
—Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2025
Up until days ago, the ICRC had been the only lifeline for these political prisoners, whose sham trial began two months ago.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
Noun
Six elections since have been widely dismissed as shams that concealed rising discontent.
—Nataliya Vasilyeva, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2025
Crisp white bedding with a vibrant yellow border and matching shams contrast the cool aquatic blues of a beachy bedroom.
—Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sham
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sham
Adjective
-
Push your chairs and couches together to create a faux sectional look.—
Claire Hoppe Norgaard,
Better Homes & Gardens,
28 Apr. 2025
-
And while both traditional and faux leather-making processes involve chemicals, PVC can release pollutants and toxic chemicals.—
Gia Yetikyel,
Vogue,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
In Asia, a shadow trade war has long been fought in China over intellectual property—mainly counterfeit goods like putting a Blackhawks logo on an unauthorized cap.—
Brendan Coffey,
Sportico.com,
4 Apr. 2025
-
Image Beware of counterfeit eclipse glasses and solar viewers.—
Katrina Miller,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Without further ado, here is the sixth iteration of mock drafts, with this being the mock draft just before the final one, which will be put out on the day of the draft.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Apr. 2025
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Here’s our latest projections, in the Star-Telegram’s mock draft 2.0: FIRST ROUND 1.—
Nick Harris,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Imagination was key to the films that Hess made after Napoleon Dynamite: the soulful Nacho Libre, in which Jack Black as a novice monk and Lucha Libre fan gave a fully rounded characterization, and the ingenious fantasy-fiction parody Gentlemen Broncos.—
Armond White,
National Review,
16 Apr. 2025
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Those include the parodies of commercials and public access programs that begin episodes, giving us introductions to Judaism and the French-Canadian mobsters and a particular brand of coffee in ways that, like so much in the series, feel fleetingly amusing rather than coherently realized.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
They are aimed at gaining control over institutions likely to push back against Trump’s agenda by citing inconvenient truths: Climate change is no hoax, vaccines save millions of lives and sweeping tariffs amount to a huge tax hike on American consumers and businesses.—
Orlando Sentinel and Chicago Tribune editorial boards,
The Orlando Sentinel,
22 Apr. 2025
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Joshua Lowe was sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to false information and hoaxes, according to court records.—
Jennifer Rodriguez,
Miami Herald,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The man who brought up the accusation of welfare fraud, who admitted to working for Alite's former boss John Gotti Jr., left the room, leaving a packet of handouts on a seat on his way out.—
Olivia Liu,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2025
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Trump wants Chris Krebs, former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, to be investigated for declaring, after careful study of the 2020 election, that there was no election fraud.—
Tom Zirpoli,
Baltimore Sun,
22 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Read: America is done pretending about meat All of this social-media attention has been translating into people’s actual eating habits, Victoria Fitzgerald, who oversees Whole Foods Market’s meat merchandising, told me.—
Valerie Trapp,
The Atlantic,
17 Apr. 2025
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My mother pretended to be Vietnamese to save our family.—
Sophal Ear,
The Conversation,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Expect more fake eggs made of colored marshmallows or even potatoes on this year’s Easter spread With egg prices stubbornly high, the internet has offered up a host of alternatives, with crafters painting rocks and influencers dyeing everything from marshmallows to potatoes.—
William Lambers,
Hartford Courant,
18 Apr. 2025
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This dog sofa features furniture-quality construction, with fake leather upholstery, memory foam internal padding and legs to hold it off the floor.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sham.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sham. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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