pretend
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cause or attempt to cause (what is not so) to seem so.
to pretend illness; to pretend that nothing is wrong.
- Synonyms:
- counterfeit, sham, fake, simulate
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to appear falsely, as to deceive; feign.
to pretend to go to sleep.
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to make believe.
The children pretended to be cowboys.
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to presume; venture.
I can't pretend to say what went wrong.
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to allege or profess, especially insincerely or falsely.
He pretended to have no knowledge of her whereabouts.
verb (used without object)
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to make believe.
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to lay claim to (usually followed byto ).
She pretended to the throne.
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to make pretensions (usually followed byto ).
He pretends to great knowledge.
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Obsolete. to aspire, as a suitor or candidate (followed byto ).
adjective
verb
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(when tr, usually takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to claim or allege (something untrue)
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(tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to make believe, as in a play
you pretend to be Ophelia
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to present a claim, esp a dubious one
to pretend to the throne
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obsolete to aspire as a candidate or suitor (for)
adjective
Related Words
Pretend, affect, assume, feign imply an attempt to create a false appearance. To pretend is to create an imaginary characteristic or to play a part: to pretend sorrow. To affect is to make a consciously artificial show of having qualities that one thinks would look well and impress others: to affect shyness. To assume is to take on or put on a specific outward appearance, often (but not always) with intent to deceive: to assume an air of indifference. To feign implies using ingenuity in pretense, and some degree of imitation of appearance or characteristics: to feign surprise.
Etymology
Origin of pretend
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English pretenden, from Latin praetendere “to stretch forth, put forward, pretend.” See pre-, tend 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And you know who doesn’t even pretend to care about that agreement?
He liked playing house with Leah and Rosie and Skipper when they would cook pretend dinners on the little stove and serve the dinners to the stuffed animals that they propped up in chairs.
From Literature
“I don’t pretend, Fly,” she said, using his nickname for the first time.
From Literature
“If you want to win, you have to take the risk of still being all-in, to pretend your legs are not completely done. And that’s what puts you in peril.”
None of the patients in the trials knew if the pill they were taking was real or a pretend one.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
