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sham (샴)something that is not what it purports to be; a fake or imitation

Part of speech: NOUN

Definition: something that is not what it purports to be; a fake or imitation

Pronunciation (IPA): /ʃæm/

Korean meaning: 가짜, 속임수, 허위

Korean pronunciation:

Example Sentences

  • The professor's degree from 'Harvard University' was a complete sham - it was actually from 'Hardvard University' with a typo!
  • The company's environmental efforts turned out to be nothing but a sham.
  • He shammed being a food critic to get free meals at fancy restaurants.

sham

NOUN

//ʃæm//

something that is not what it purports to be; a fake or imitation

sham concept
💡 Concept

Fake gold watches revealed as cheap imitations

sham rhyme
🎵 Rhyme

The fancy ham was just a sham—it's only jam!

🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/ʃæm/
🇬🇧 UK/ʃæm/

🌳Etymology

Rootsham

Origin

From a dialectal variant of 'shame,' influenced by similar words in Scandinavian languages. The word emerged in English around the 17th century, initially used to describe something false or pretended.

🎵Rhyme

jamhamdamramclam
jam
ham
dam
ram
clam

🔗Collocations

sham marriage
sham democracy
expose a sham
complete sham
sham trial
sham fight
political sham

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

The professor's degree from 'Harvard University' was a complete sham - it was actually from 'Hardvard University' with a typo!

The company's environmental efforts turned out to be nothing but a sham.

😄 Fun example

He shammed being a food critic to get free meals at fancy restaurants.

The peace negotiation was just a sham to buy more time for military preparation.

📚Related Words

Synonyms

fakefraudcounterfeitbogusphony

Antonyms

genuineauthenticreal

Related

pretenddeceiveimitatehoax

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