Origin of sham

First recorded in 1670–80; origin uncertain

SYNONYMS FOR sham

1 pretense.
4 spurious, make-believe, simulated, mock. See false.
6 imitate.
7 feign, fake.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR sham ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM sham

un·shammed, adjective

Words nearby sham

shalom, shalom aleichem, shalosh seudoth, shalt, shalwar, sham, shama, shaman, shamanism, shamash, shamateur

Words related to sham

fraudulent, fictitious, phony, bogus, fraud, farce, mockery, hypocrisy, whitewash, forgery, travesty, fake, dummy, affected, ersatz, mock, assumed, plaster, pretend, pseudo

Example sentences from the Web for sham

British Dictionary definitions for sham

sham
/ (ʃæm) /

noun

anything that is not what it purports or appears to be
something false, fake, or fictitious that purports to be genuine
a person who pretends to be something other than he is

adjective

counterfeit or false; simulated

verb shams, shamming or shammed

to falsely assume the appearance of (something); counterfeit to sham illness

Derived forms of sham

shammer, noun

Word Origin for sham

C17: perhaps a Northern English dialect variant of shame