Sham1. (n.) That which deceives expectation; any trick, fraud, or device that deludes and disappoint; a make-believe; delusion; imposture, humbug.
2. (n.) A false front, or removable ornamental covering.
3. (a.) False; counterfeit; pretended; feigned; unreal; as, a sham fight.
4. (v. t.) To trick; to cheat; to deceive or delude with false pretenses.
5. (v. t.) To obtrude by fraud or imposition.
6. (v. t.) To assume the manner and character of; to imitate; to ape; to feign.
7. (v. i.) To make false pretenses; to deceive; to feign; to impose.
Thesaurus Entries
Tartuffery, Tartuffism, act, act a part, acting, adulterated, affect, affectation, affected, affectedness, airs, airs and graces, alibi, ape, apocryphal, apology, appearance, artificial, artificiality, assume, assumed, attitudinizing, bastard, blagueur, blazon, blind, bluff, bluffer, bluffing, bogus, bravura, brilliancy, brummagem, burlesque, cant, caricature, charlatan, cheat, cheating, clinquant, cloak, color, colorable, colored, coloring, copy, counterfeit, counterfeited, cover, cover story, cover up, cover-up, create, daring, dash, deceit, deception, delusion, demonstration, device, disguise, display, dissemblance, dissemble, dissembling, dissimulate, dissimulation, distorted, do a bit, dramatics, dramatize, dressed up, dummy, eclat, embellished, embroidered, ersatz, etalage, excuse, exhibition, exhibitionism, facade, face, factitious, fake, faked, fakement, faker, fakery, faking, FALSE, false air, false front, false show, falsified, falsity, fanfaronade, farce, feign, feigned, feigned belief, feigning, feint, fictitious, fictive, figure, flair, flam, flaunt, flaunting, flourish, forged, forgery, four-flush, four-flushing, fourflusher, frame-up, fraud, fraudulent, front, gammon, garbled, gilt, gloss, guise, handle, histrionics, histrionize, hoax, hokey, humbug, humbuggery, hypocrisy, hypocritical, hypocriticalness, illegitimate, image, imitate, imitation, impersonator, impostor, imposture, insincerity, invent, junk, junky, lame excuse, let on, let on like, lie, locus standi, made-up, make a pretense, make as if, make believe, make like, make out like, make-believe, malingerer, man-made, manifestation, mannerism, mask, masquerade, mere show, meretriciousness, mislead, mock, mountebank, ostensible motive, ostentation, outward show, overact, pageant, pageantry, parade, paste, pecksniffery, perverted, pharisaicalness, pharisaism, phony, pinchbeck, plagiarized, plaster, play, play a part, play a scene, play possum, playact, playacting, poor excuse, pose, poser, poseur, posing, posture, pretend, pretended, pretender, pretense, pretension, pretext, profess, protestation, prunes and prisms, pseudo, public image, public motive, put on, put on airs, put-off, put-on, put-up job, putting on airs, quack, quacksalver, quackster, quasi, queer, refuge, representation, ringer, rip-off, saltimbanco, sanctimoniousness, sanctimony, screen, seeming, self-styled, sell, semblance, shammer, shoddy, show, showing-off, simulacrum, simulate, simulated, simulation, smoke screen, snide, so-called, soi-disant, speciousness, spectacle, splash, splurge, spoof, spurious, staginess, stalking-horse, stratagem, stylishness