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Webster 1913 Edition

Sham

Sham

(shăm)
,
Noun.
[Originally the same word as
shame
, hence, a disgrace, a trick. See
Shame
,
Noun.
]
1.
That which deceives expectation; any trick, fraud, or device that deludes and disappoints; a make-believe; delusion; imposture; humbug.
“A mere sham.”
Bp. Stillingfleet.
Believe who will the solemn
sham
, not I.
Addison.
2.
A false front, or removable ornamental covering.
Pillow sham
,
a covering to be laid on a pillow.

Sham

,
Adj.
False; counterfeit; pretended; feigned; unreal;
as, a
sham
fight
.
They scorned the
sham
independence proffered to them by the Athenians.
Jowett (Thucyd)

Sham

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Shammed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Shamming
.]
1.
To trick; to cheat; to deceive or delude with false pretenses.
Fooled and
shammed
into a conviction.
L’Estrange.
2.
To obtrude by fraud or imposition.
[R.]
We must have a care that we do not . . .
sham
fallacies upon the world for current reason.
L'Estrange.
3.
To assume the manner and character of; to imitate; to ape; to feign.
To sham Abram
or
To sham Abraham
,
to feign sickness; to malinger. Hence a malingerer is called, in sailors' cant, Sham Abram, or Sham Abraham.

Sham

,
Verb.
I.
To make false pretenses; to deceive; to feign; to impose.
Wondering . . . whether those who lectured him were such fools as they professed to be, or were only
shamming
.
Macaulay.

Webster 1828 Edition

Sham

SHAM

,
Noun.
That which deceives expectation; any trick, fraud or device that deludes and disappoints; delusion; imposture. [Not an elegant word.]
Believe who will the solemn sham, not I. Addison.

SHAM

,
Adj.
False; counterfeit; pretended; as a sham fight.

SHAM

, v.t.
1. To deceive expectation; to trick to cheat; to delude with false pretenses.
They find themselves fooled and shammed into conviction. [Not elegant.]

Definition 2025

Sham

Sham

See also: sham

Hausa

Proper noun

Shâm f

  1. Syria
  2. Syria, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon

sham

sham

See also: Sham

English

Adjective

sham ‎(comparative more sham, superlative most sham)

  1. 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.
  2. counterfeit; unreal
    • Jowett
      They scorned the sham independence proffered to them by the Athenians.

Synonyms

  • mock
  • See also Wikisaurus:fake

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

sham ‎(plural shams)

  1. A fake; an imitation that purports to be genuine.
    The time-share deal was a sham.
  2. Trickery, hoaxing.
    A con-man must be skilled in the arts of sham and deceit.
  3. A false front, or removable ornamental covering.
  4. A decorative cover for a pillow.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

  • pillow sham

Verb

sham ‎(third-person singular simple present shams, present participle shamming, simple past and past participle shammed)

  1. To deceive, cheat, lie.
    • L'Estrange
      Fooled and shammed into a conviction.
  2. To obtrude by fraud or imposition.
    • L'Estrange
      We must have a care that we do not […] sham fallacies upon the world for current reason.
  3. To assume the manner and character of; to imitate; to ape; to feign.

Translations

Anagrams

Uzbek

Other scripts
Cyrillic шам‍
Roman sham‍
Perso-Arabic ‍‍

Etymology

From Arabic شمع

Noun

sham ‎(plural shamlar)

  1. candle

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʃam/, /ʃæm/

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