sham vs fake

sham and fake both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
sham	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
fake	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

As nouns, sham and fake are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of sham include postiche.

As nouns, sham and fake are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of sham include faker, fraud, imposter, impostor, pretender, pseud, pseudo, role player, shammer.

As verbs, fake is a hyponym of sham; that is, fake is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than sham:

Other hyponyms of sham include play possum, take a dive, bull, bullshit, talk through one's hat, mouth.

sham (noun)	fake (noun)
something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be	(football) a deceptive move made by a football player
a person who makes deceitful pretenses	something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be
	a person who makes deceitful pretenses

sham (adjective)	fake (adjective)
adopted in order to deceive	not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article
	fraudulent; having a misleading appearance

sham (verb)	fake (verb)
make believe with the intent to deceive	speak insincerely or without regard for facts or truths
make a pretence of	make a copy of with the intent to deceive
	tamper, with the purpose of deception