sham
pronunciation
How to pronounce sham in British English:
UK [ʃæm]
How to pronounce sham in American English:
US [ʃæm]
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- Noun:
- something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be
- a person who makes deceitful pretenses
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- Verb:
- make a pretence of
- make believe with the intent to deceive
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- Adjective:
- adopted in order to deceive
Word Origin
- sham
- sham: see shame
- sham (n.)
- 1670s, "a trick, a hoax, a fraud," also as a verb and an adjective, of uncertain origin; the words burst into use in 1677. Perhaps from sham, a northern dialectal variant of shame (n.); a derivation OED finds "not impossible." Sense of "something meant to be mistaken for something else" is from 1728. The meaning "false front" in pillow-sham (1721) is from the notion of "counterfeit." Related: Shammed; shamming; shammer. Shamateur "amateur sportsman who acts like a professional" is from 1896.
Antonym
Example
- 1. Both real and sham acupuncture worked better than having no treatment at all .
- 2. That would look too much like a response to sham elections held last november .
- 3. Placebo injections are more effective than placebo pills , and neither is as potent as sham surgery .
- 4. Their biggest fear was that deaths , injuries and failures from sham treatments would undermine the case for genuine therapies .
- 5. Seeing the judiciary as biased and the grievance process as a sham , they treat petitioning as a means of extortion .