sham
/ˈʃeə̯m/ adjective, noun, verb, proper noun
Forms shams shamming shammed
- adjective Intended to deceive; false. “It was only a sham wedding: they didn't care much for one another, but wanted their parents to stop hassling them.”
- adjective Counterfeit; unreal.
- noun A fake; an imitation that purports to be genuine. “The time-share deal was a sham.”
- noun Trickery, hoaxing. “A con-man must be skilled in the arts of sham and deceit.”
- noun A false front, or removable ornamental covering.
- noun A decorative cover for a pillow.
- verb To deceive, cheat, lie. “He shammed a migraine to avoid the exam.”
- verb To obtrude by fraud or imposition.
- verb To assume the manner and character of; to imitate; to ape; to feign.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
mock farce fake postiche imposter impostor pretender faker fraud shammer pseudo pseud role player simulate assume feign pretend affect dissemble assumed false fictitious fictive pretended put on
Antonyms
Etymology
Probably a dialectal form of shame.
Alternatively, sham is a term that is used to describe the bottom thick base of a glass, usually a wine or stem glass, where the stem meets the bulbous shape bowl. Glass manufacturers would increase the "sham" to deceive customers into thinking a glass holds more than it actually does. For example, a manufacturer would mold a 12oz glass with a larger "sham" in the base to reduce the volume of the glasses to fit 10-11oz of liquid. By increasing the bulge in the base, usually where the stem meets the glass, it is almost impossible to visually distinguish the difference. This gives the illusion the glass size is the same as any another 12oz glass, but the inside will hold a lesser volume. Later, bringing use to the term "you got shammed" when one party tries to hide something and/or get over on the other party using deceiving tactics.
It could be from Arabic شَام (šām, literally “Syria”), from which it spread also to Gujarat. Perhaps also an altered spelling of French Cham.
Webster’s 1913
- noun That which deceives expectation; any trick, fraud, or device that deludes and disappoint; a make-believe; delusion; imposture, humbug.
- noun A false front, or removable ornamental covering. Pillow sham, a covering to be laid on a pillow.
- adjective False; counterfeit; pretended; feigned; unreal; as, a sham fight.
- verb To trick; to cheat; to deceive or delude with false pretenses.
Etymology [Originally the same word as shame, hence, a disgrace, a trick. See Shame, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “sham”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details