sham
sham — noun
- shamsingular
- shamsplural
1. a situation, object, or person that is presented as real or genuine but is actua
a situation, object, or person that is presented as real or genuine but is actually a deliberate deception — for example, a company that claims to be charitable but keeps all the donations for itself.
The charity auction proved a sham — the money went to the organisers, not the homeless.
a sham — noun phrase for a deceptive event
Naoko found her investment was a sham when the address was an empty warehouse.
The so-called healer was a sham who told people what they wanted to hear.
Journalists exposed the election as a sham, with ballot boxes stuffed before polling day.
Tomás dismissed the court case as a sham and refused to take part.
- fake
broader term for anything not genuine; 'sham' emphasises deliberate deception while 'fake' can include non-deceptive copies
- fraud
stronger legal/moral force; 'fraud' is a crime, while 'sham' is a general label for anything deceptive
- impostor
specifically a person who pretends to be someone else; narrower than 'sham'
- genuine article
the real thing, not a copy or deception
文法句型
a sham
be a sham
用法筆記
Often preceded by 'a' or 'the' in the pattern 'be a sham'. Can refer both to an object/situation (e.g. a sham election) and to a person (e.g. a sham healer).
常見錯誤
sham — verb
- shampresent simple I / you / we / they
- shams3rd person singular
- shamming-ing form
- shammedpast simple
1. to pretend to have a particular feeling, illness, or condition in order to decei
to pretend to have a particular feeling, illness, or condition in order to deceive others — for example, shamming a headache to avoid a task, or shamming sleep to avoid a conversation.
Paloma shammed a stomach ache so she could leave the dinner early.
sham + illness (stomach ache)
The cat shammed a limp for two days, then suddenly sprinted after a bird.
Diego shammed interest in the lecture while secretly texting under the desk.
Some athletes sham injuries during matches to get extra recovery time.
文法句型
sham + noun (illness/injury/emotion)
用法筆記
Object is typically a physical condition (headache, injury) or an emotion (surprise, interest). Rarely used with a that-clause. More common in storytelling than in everyday speech.
常見錯誤
sham — adjective
- shampositive
- shammercomparative
- shammestsuperlative
1. made to look real or genuine for the purpose of deceiving people; not authentic.
made to look real or genuine for the purpose of deceiving people; not authentic.
The couple went through a sham marriage just to get a residence permit.
sham + marriage (legal/institutional context)
Omar's sham apology fooled no one — he smiled while he spoke.
The company ran a sham recycling programme that simply dumped waste in the river.
Critics described the trial as a sham process where the verdict had been decided beforehand.
Adisa bought a sham passport from a dealer and was stopped at the airport.
- genuine
authentic, real
文法句型
sham + noun
用法筆記
Used only before a noun (attributive), not after a linking verb. You say 'a sham marriage', not 'the marriage is sham'.