pretended
Americanadjective
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insincerely or falsely professed.
a pretended interest in art.
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feigned, fictitious, or counterfeit.
His pretended wealth was proved to be nonexistent.
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alleged or asserted; reputed.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of pretended
late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at pretend, -ed 2
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.
Dad pretended nothing had gone wrong, which felt worse than being chewed out.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
Purwadi had pretended to be Putri on a delivery app, using her name and photo as the account details.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
But as Hull wrote: “Spirit Airlines wasn’t perfect. But it was safe, and it never pretended to be something it wasn’t.”
From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026
In response to the criticism, Patel has pretended that his detractors are just jealous of his girlfriend.
From Salon • Apr. 24, 2026
Jonah pretended to trip, stumbling against Katherine’s back.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
