sham tears

USAGE SUMMARY

"sham tears" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it to describe tears that are insincere or feigned, often to manipulate others' emotions. Example: "She shed sham tears to gain sympathy from her friends." Alternative expressions include "fake tears" and "crocodile tears."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Academia

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

60 human-written examples

A total of 28 days after inducing a full-thickness rotator cuff tear, there was a 33% decrease in the mass of supraspinatus muscles (sham 417 mg; sem 20.3, tear 279 mg; sem 20.5, p < 0.05) and a 40% decrease in the mass of infraspinatus muscles (sham 394 mg; sem 19.7, tear 235 mg; sem 12.9, p < 0.05).

Bone and Joint Research

Ritchie Valens had inspired many young Mexican Americans, and elsewhere, other Mexican American acts were making their mark, including Michigan's Question Mark and the Mysterians ("96 Tears") and Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs ("Wooly Bully").

Los Angeles Times

Less than a year ago, many were shocked when arthroscopic surgery for meniscal tears performed no better than sham surgery.

The New York Times

Four RCTs have compared APM with physical therapy in older (mean age ≥45 years) individuals with symptomatic knee OA [ 14- 17], while one RCT compared APM with sham surgery in people with medial mensical tears [ 18].

Arthritis Research and Therapy

They have waited and waited and finally have been given what, shrouded by their veil of tears, looks to them like a sham".

The Guardian

No between-group differences existed for improvement in pain levels 12 months postprocedure for both the APM and sham surgery groups in people with medial meniscal tears [ 18].

Arthritis Research and Therapy

Moreover, recent research also suggests that arthroscopic meniscal tear surgery is no better than sham surgery (Sihvonen et al. 2013).

AJOB Empirical Bioethics

Sham animals underwent the same surgical procedure without any ligament transection or meniscal tear.

Arthritis Research and Therapy

A sham.

The New York Times

Baby pillow sham, $95.

The New York Times - Magazine

It's sham populism.

The New Yorker

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Be mindful of the double meaning of the word 'tears' in academic and scientific texts, where it often refers to physical ruptures (e.g. meniscal tears) rather than crying.

Common error

Do not use the phrase in medical research contexts without qualification. In clinical studies, a 'sham' procedure is a placebo control, and a 'tear' is a physical injury. Combining them might suggest a fake injury rather than feigned crying, which could confuse the reader.

Linguistic Context

In this phrase, "sham" acts as an attributive adjective modifying the noun "tears". According to Ludwig AI, while the phrase is grammatically correct, its components are frequently found separately in scientific contexts where sham refers to a control procedure and tears refers to orthopedic injuries.

Expression frequency: Missing

Frequent in

News & Media

50%

Academia

25%

Science

25%

Less common in

Formal & Business

10%

Wiki

5%

Social Media

5%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In conclusion, "sham tears" is a valid English expression used to describe insincere crying. However, analysis from Ludwig shows that the individual words are highly prevalent in scientific and medical literature in a non-emotional capacity. In those contexts, a 'sham' group is used as a control against actual surgeries for physical 'tears', such as those in the rotator cuff or meniscus. When using the phrase in a figurative sense to mean "fake crying", it is effective and evocative. Writers should ensure the context clearly dictates whether they are discussing human emotion or medical research to avoid ambiguity.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

crocodile tears

Uses a common idiom to describe hypocritical or false displays of grief

fake tears

Provides a more direct and informal way to describe insincere crying

feigned tears

Employs a more formal verb to indicate the intentional performance of crying

false tears

Suggests that the emotion behind the tears is not genuine or truthful

insincere weeping

Shifts the focus from the tears themselves to the act of crying and the lack of sincerity

simulated sorrow

Describes the underlying emotion as an imitation rather than a genuine feeling

staged crying

Implies a theatrical or planned performance of emotion

artificial grief

Refers to the manufactured nature of the sadness expressed

put-on emotion

An idiomatic expression describing a display of feeling that is not real

hollow weeping

Suggests the crying lacks any actual depth or emotional substance

FAQs

What is the difference between "sham tears" and "crocodile tears"?

While both refer to insincere emotion, "crocodile tears" is a widely recognized idiom suggesting hypocrisy, whereas "sham tears" is a more literal description of the tears as a fraud or imitation.

How can I use "sham tears" in a sentence?

You might write: "The politician's "sham tears" did little to convince the public of his regret."

What is a more formal alternative for "sham tears"?

You can use "feigned tears" or "simulated sorrow" to convey the same meaning in a more academic or professional tone.

Does "sham tears" always refer to crying?

Generally yes, but in scientific literature, you might see references to a "sham" group and physical "tears" (injuries) in the same paper, which is a different usage altogether.