sham

verb

Falsely present something as genuine; pretend to be ill or busy.

"He shammed illness to avoid the meeting."

noun

A deceptive imitation or a person pretending to be something they are not.

"The whole election was a complete sham."

adjective

Not genuine; fake or false, intended to deceive.

"They arranged a sham marriage for the visa."

Thesaurus

Synonyms: fictitious, assumed, put on, imitative, pretended, fictive, false, counterfeit, role player, impostor, pretender, shammer