Library / English Dictionary

SHAM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: shammed    , shamming   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be

Synonyms:

fake; postiche; sham

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("sham" is a kind of...):

imitation (something copied or derived from an original)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sham"):

fake book (a fake in the form of an imitation book; used to fill bookcases of people who wish to appear scholarly)

Potemkin village (something that seems impressive but in fact lacks substance)

Derivation:

sham (make believe with the intent to deceive)

sham (adopted in order to deceive)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A person who makes deceitful pretenses

Synonyms:

fake; faker; fraud; imposter; impostor; pretender; pseud; pseudo; role player; sham; shammer

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("sham" is a kind of...):

beguiler; cheat; cheater; deceiver; slicker; trickster (someone who leads you to believe something that is not true)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sham"):

name dropper (someone who pretends that famous people are his/her friends)

ringer (a contestant entered in a competition under false pretenses)

Derivation:

sham (make a pretence of)

sham (adopted in order to deceive)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Adopted in order to deceive

Example:

sham modesty

Synonyms:

assumed; false; fictitious; fictive; pretended; put on; sham

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

counterfeit; imitative (not genuine; imitating something superior)

Derivation:

sham (something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be)

sham (a person who makes deceitful pretenses)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make believe with the intent to deceive

Example:

He shammed a headache

Synonyms:

affect; dissemble; feign; pretend; sham

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "sham" is one way to...):

belie; misrepresent (represent falsely)

Verb group:

make; make believe; pretend (represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sham"):

play possum (to pretend to be dead)

take a dive (pretend to be knocked out, as of a boxer)

bull; bullshit; fake; talk through one's hat (speak insincerely or without regard for facts or truths)

mouth (articulate silently; form words with the lips only)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Derivation:

sham (something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be)

shammer (a person who makes deceitful pretenses)

shammer (someone shirking their duty by feigning illness or incapacity)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make a pretence of

Example:

he feigned sleep

Synonyms:

assume; feign; sham; simulate

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "sham" is one way to...):

act; dissemble; pretend (behave unnaturally or affectedly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sham"):

play (pretend to be somebody in the framework of a game or playful activity)

feint (deceive by a mock action)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

sham; shammer (a person who makes deceitful pretenses)

shammer (someone shirking their duty by feigning illness or incapacity)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The researchers split the frogs into three groups: experimental, control, and sham.

(Scientists Help Frogs to Regenerate Their Limbs with Bioreactor Device, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The researchers tested rats for increased sensitivity to non-painful stimulation following a sciatic nerve injury or sham surgery.

(Opioid Pain Relievers May Prolong Pain, NIH)

Then for three days, they unknowingly received either active or sham (fake) transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS.

(Brain stimulation limits calories consumed in adults with obesity, NIH)

The sham chaplain came into our cells to exhort us, carrying a black bag, supposed to be full of tracts, and so often did he come that by the third day we had each stowed away at the foot of our beds a file, a brace of pistols, a pound of powder, and twenty slugs.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The sham stimulation procedure was identical to the acoustic one, but participants did not hear any noise during sleep.

(Sound Waves Boost Older Adult' Memory, Deep Sleep, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

For both the sham and acoustic stimulation sessions, the individuals took a memory test at night and again the next morning.

(Sound Waves Boost Older Adult' Memory, Deep Sleep, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)