1. Adopted in order to deceive
   "sham modesty";
   - assumed, false, fictitious, fictive, pretended, put on

1. Something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be
   "She wore a sham designer handbag";
   - fake, postiche
    
2. A person who makes deceitful pretences
   "The sham claimed to be a long-lost relative to gain access to the family fortune";
   - imposter, impostor, pretender, fake, faker, fraud, shammer, pseudo, pseud [informal]
    
3. [N. Amer] Bed linen consisting of a decorative cover for a pillow
   "She added pillow shams to match the new bedspread";
   - pillow sham [N. Amer]

1. Make believe with the intent to deceive
   "He shammed a headache";
   - feign, pretend, affect, dissemble
    
2. Make a pretence of
   "She shammed indifference, even though she was seething with anger";
   - simulate, assume, feign

Derived forms: shams, shammed, shamming

See also: counterfeit, imitative

Type of: act, bed linen, belie, deceiver, dissemble, imitation, misrepresent, pretend, slicker [informal], trickster

Encyclopedia: Sham, Iran