sham

/ˈsham/

perhaps from English dialect sham shame, alteration of English shame

noun

  1. a trick that deludes : hoax

  2. cheap falseness : hypocrisy

  3. an ornamental covering for a pillow

feared that the deal was a sham

imposture fraud sham fake humbug counterfeit mean a thing made to seem other than it is. imposture applies to any situation in which a spurious object or performance is passed off as genuine. fraud usually implies a deliberate perversion of the truth.

adjective

  1. not genuine : false, feigned

  2. having such poor quality as to seem false

verb

  1. to go through the external motions necessary to counterfeit

  2. to act intentionally so as to give a false impression : feign

assume affect pretend simulate feign counterfeit sham mean to put on a false or deceptive appearance. assume often implies a justifiable motive rather than an intent to deceive. affect implies making a false show of possessing, using, or feeling.