sham

The word sham commonly refers to something that’s not what it claims to be—some kind of fraud or fake. This sense of the word can even refer to a person, as in He’s a total fake, a sham—you should see what he’s really like. 

Sham is often used even more specifically to refer to something that’s considered a scam, con, or hoax, as in This whole thing is a sham—they’re just trying to get your money. 

Sometimes, sham refers to a situation that’s considered illegitimate for some reason, as in The trial was a sham—there wasn’t even a jury. Synonyms for this sense are farce and mockery.

Sham can also be used as an adjective for any of these senses, as in sham trial (an illegitimate one), sham marriage (one in which the couple aren’t in a real relationship), or sham version (a fake or knockoff version).

We use sham in a number of different ways, but they all involve some kind of falseness or fakeness. It’s usually always used negatively.

Here are some examples of sham in a sentence:

• The “charity” event was a sham—it was just an excuse for a tax write-off.
• I knew something about him seemed fake, but I didn’t expect him to turn out to be a complete sham. 
• The dictator is known for holding sham elections to give the appearance of legitimacy.