English adjective: sham | |||
1. | sham adopted in order to deceive | ||
Samples | An assumed name. An assumed cheerfulness. A fictitious address. Fictive sympathy. A pretended interest. A put-on childish voice. Sham modesty. | ||
Synonyms | assumed, false, fictitious, fictive, pretended, put on | ||
Similar | counterfeit, imitative | ||
Antonyms | echt, genuine | ||
English noun: sham | |||
1. | sham (artifact) something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be | ||
Synonyms | fake, postiche | ||
Broader (hypernym) | imitation | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | fake book, Potemkin village | ||
2. | sham (person) a person who makes deceitful pretenses | ||
Synonyms | fake, faker, fraud, imposter, impostor, pretender, pseud, pseudo, role player, shammer | ||
Broader (hypernym) | beguiler, cheat, cheater, deceiver, slicker, trickster | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | name dropper, ringer | ||
English verb: sham | |||
1. | sham (creation) make a pretence of | ||
Samples | She assumed indifference, even though she was seething with anger. He feigned sleep. | ||
Synonyms | assume, feign, simulate | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something | ||
Broader (hypernym) | act, dissemble, pretend | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | feint, play | ||
2. | sham (communication) make believe with the intent to deceive | ||
Samples | He feigned that he was ill. He shammed a headache. | ||
Synonyms | affect, dissemble, feign, pretend | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something. Somebody ----s that CLAUSE. Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE | ||
Broader (hypernym) | belie, misrepresent | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | bull, bullshit, fake, mouth, play possum, take a dive, talk through one's hat | ||
Verb group | make, make believe, pretend | ||