He acted in such a way that the principles of 1848 which he had preserved became a mere sham.

Had the Tleilaxu fashioned their ghola better than they knew - or was this mere sham, part of his conditioning?

The 1961 case made one exception to the doctrine of antitrust immunity that it established: for activities that were a "mere sham," intended to "interfere directly with the business relationships of a competitor."

To Harry Vincent, that leader's mask was a mere sham.

All their reputed skill as players was mere sham; it required diligent practice to be good at the ball game, and the lords of death practiced only deceit and betrayal.

- Was her encouragement of the poor pedagogue all a mere sham to secure her conquest of his rival?

This time, however, the challenge is no mere sham.

We are therefore opposed to efforts to turn this Parliament into a mere sham, where democracy is only nominally present.

The upper joint (that farthest from the nail) is visible, but it is a mere sham; we cannot bend it.