Sham
noun
Something that is not what it appears to be and is meant to trick or deceive people.
The so-called miracle cure turned out to be a sham
Often appears as...
- expose a sham
- complete sham
Usage tips
Disapproving
adjective
False, not real, or not honest.
She respected him for being the only one not to offer sham sympathy
Often appears as...
- sham election
- sham trial
Usage tips
Disapproving
verb
To pretend to be someone or something that you are not.
He was found guilty of shamming insanity
Often appears as...
- shamming illness
- shamming insanity
Usage tips
Disapproving
noun
Something that is not what it appears to be and is meant to trick or deceive people.
The so-called miracle cure turned out to be a sham
Often appears as...
- expose a sham
- complete sham
Usage tips
Disapproving
adjective
False, not real, or not honest.
She respected him for being the only one not to offer sham sympathy
Often appears as...
- sham election
- sham trial
Usage tips
Disapproving
verb
To pretend to be someone or something that you are not.
He was found guilty of shamming insanity
Often appears as...
- shamming illness
- shamming insanity
Usage tips
Disapproving
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Deception Intent
Used when someone intentionally creates a fake setup to mislead.
Their charity was a sham, only created to embezzle funds.
Pro Tip 2/3Spotting the Fake
Clarify how to recognize a sham by questioning authenticity.
Too-good-to-be-true offers are often a sham.
Pro Tip 3/3Cynical Tone
Implies a critical or mocking attitude towards genuineness.
He called their altruism a sham, seeing it as self-serving.
Pro Tip 1/3Deception Intent
Used when someone intentionally creates a fake setup to mislead.
Their charity was a sham, only created to embezzle funds.
Pro Tip 2/3Spotting the Fake
Clarify how to recognize a sham by questioning authenticity.
Too-good-to-be-true offers are often a sham.
Pro Tip 3/3Cynical Tone
Implies a critical or mocking attitude towards genuineness.
He called their altruism a sham, seeing it as self-serving.
Pro Tip 1/3Deception Intent
Used when someone intentionally creates a fake setup to mislead.
Their charity was a sham, only created to embezzle funds.
Pro Tip 2/3Spotting the Fake
Clarify how to recognize a sham by questioning authenticity.
Too-good-to-be-true offers are often a sham.
Pro Tip 3/3Cynical Tone
Implies a critical or mocking attitude towards genuineness.
He called their altruism a sham, seeing it as self-serving.
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Video examples
Why specializing early...
no question about it. And yet, it's been a double-edged sword. A few years ago, one of the most popular surgeries in the world for knee pain was tested in a placebo-controlled trial. Some of the patients got "sham surgery." That means the surgeons make an incision, they bang around like they're doing something,
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 238 PIPE...
obviously they're just wild animals and as you've just seen even though they're so massive there can be you know scaredy cats and I think sham I feel likes a lot of the time when people end up getting injured is because they're just they're so frightened of us as humans and they're protective over their areas
Video examples
Unpacking the nuts and...
course weak WikiLeaks and david sham who created one of the earliest attempts at a digital currency called digit cash which ultimately failed a similar model to bitcoin probably the first online summary of a decentralized cryptocurrency model that this crowd-sourced was discussed on their
Video examples
The power of the placebo...
But of course, we know the placebos exert their own influence, too. Thanks to the placebo effect, patients have experienced relief from a range of ailments, including heart problems, asthma, and severe pain, even though all they'd received was a fake drug or sham surgery.
Video examples
The mysterious life and...
and they were skeptical of his so-called powers and thought he was corrupting the royal family. By the end of World War I, they were convinced the only way to maintain order was to eliminate this sham of a holy man. With this conviction,
Video examples
History vs. Henry VIII -...
He executed his own wife? That…wasn’t King Henry’s initiative. She was accused of treason in a power struggle with the King’s minister, Thomas Cromwell. The trial was a sham and she wouldn’t have been convicted without Henry’s approval.
Video examples
C.K. Williams: Poetry...
No. Again, no. I don't mean that for a moment. What I mean is the world holds me so tightly -- the good and the bad -- my own follies and weakness that even this counterfeit Venus with her sham heat, and her bosom probably plumped
Video examples
India's invisible...
innovation which is innovation for end-users visible innovation instead innovation if you remember some of you may have read the famous economist sham Peter he said innovation is normal T in how
Video examples
A Match Made in Africa PIPE...
the staff and nearby sham wari game reserve is instantly worried about the cab elephant babies need milk for at
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 121 PIPE...
adults camera and comfort Oh sham peace oh and try again here we go yeah oh dear
Video examples
Why specializing early...
no question about it. And yet, it's been a double-edged sword. A few years ago, one of the most popular surgeries in the world for knee pain was tested in a placebo-controlled trial. Some of the patients got "sham surgery." That means the surgeons make an incision, they bang around like they're doing something,
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 238 PIPE...
obviously they're just wild animals and as you've just seen even though they're so massive there can be you know scaredy cats and I think sham I feel likes a lot of the time when people end up getting injured is because they're just they're so frightened of us as humans and they're protective over their areas
Video examples
Unpacking the nuts and...
course weak WikiLeaks and david sham who created one of the earliest attempts at a digital currency called digit cash which ultimately failed a similar model to bitcoin probably the first online summary of a decentralized cryptocurrency model that this crowd-sourced was discussed on their
Video examples
The power of the placebo...
But of course, we know the placebos exert their own influence, too. Thanks to the placebo effect, patients have experienced relief from a range of ailments, including heart problems, asthma, and severe pain, even though all they'd received was a fake drug or sham surgery.
Video examples
The mysterious life and...
and they were skeptical of his so-called powers and thought he was corrupting the royal family. By the end of World War I, they were convinced the only way to maintain order was to eliminate this sham of a holy man. With this conviction,
Video examples
History vs. Henry VIII -...
He executed his own wife? That…wasn’t King Henry’s initiative. She was accused of treason in a power struggle with the King’s minister, Thomas Cromwell. The trial was a sham and she wouldn’t have been convicted without Henry’s approval.
Video examples
C.K. Williams: Poetry...
No. Again, no. I don't mean that for a moment. What I mean is the world holds me so tightly -- the good and the bad -- my own follies and weakness that even this counterfeit Venus with her sham heat, and her bosom probably plumped
Video examples
India's invisible...
innovation which is innovation for end-users visible innovation instead innovation if you remember some of you may have read the famous economist sham Peter he said innovation is normal T in how
Video examples
A Match Made in Africa PIPE...
the staff and nearby sham wari game reserve is instantly worried about the cab elephant babies need milk for at
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 121 PIPE...
adults camera and comfort Oh sham peace oh and try again here we go yeah oh dear
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Charles Spurgeon
British Clergyman
I fear that many a man's good resolutions only need the ordinary fire of daily life to make them melt away. So, too, with fine professions and the boastings of perfection which abound in this age of shams.
Quote examples
Joseph Conrad
Polish Novelist
Resignation, not mystic, not detached, but resignation open-eyed, conscious, and informed by love, is the only one of our feelings for which it is impossible to become a sham.
Quote examples
David Brock
American Author
It's all a sham: I have seen, and I know firsthand, indeed from my own pen, how the organized Right has sabotaged not only journalism but also democracy and truth.
Quote examples
Eric Lefkofsky
American Businessman
I'm going to start a lot of companies. These are not sham companies. These are great businesses.
Quote examples
William Makepeace Thackeray
English Novelist
There are many sham diamonds in this life which pass for real, and vice versa.
Quote examples
Kay Kay Menon
Indian Actor
Award functions are a big sham. It's a money-making television programme.
Quote examples
Tom Waits
American Musician
Champagne for my real friends and real pain for my sham friends.
Quote examples
Lisa Madigan
American Public Servant
For many, the loan modification process has been a giant sham.
Quote examples
Marion Barry
American Politician
This is not a sham, not a game. This is the real stuff.
Quote examples
Nostradamus
French Celebrity
Sham liberty will be proclaimed everywhere.
Quote examples
Charles Spurgeon
British Clergyman
I fear that many a man's good resolutions only need the ordinary fire of daily life to make them melt away. So, too, with fine professions and the boastings of perfection which abound in this age of shams.
Quote examples
Joseph Conrad
Polish Novelist
Resignation, not mystic, not detached, but resignation open-eyed, conscious, and informed by love, is the only one of our feelings for which it is impossible to become a sham.
Quote examples
David Brock
American Author
It's all a sham: I have seen, and I know firsthand, indeed from my own pen, how the organized Right has sabotaged not only journalism but also democracy and truth.
Quote examples
Eric Lefkofsky
American Businessman
I'm going to start a lot of companies. These are not sham companies. These are great businesses.
Quote examples
William Makepeace Thackeray
English Novelist
There are many sham diamonds in this life which pass for real, and vice versa.
Quote examples
Kay Kay Menon
Indian Actor
Award functions are a big sham. It's a money-making television programme.
Quote examples
Tom Waits
American Musician
Champagne for my real friends and real pain for my sham friends.
Quote examples
Lisa Madigan
American Public Servant
For many, the loan modification process has been a giant sham.
Quote examples
Marion Barry
American Politician
This is not a sham, not a game. This is the real stuff.
Quote examples
Nostradamus
French Celebrity
Sham liberty will be proclaimed everywhere.
Example 1 of 10
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