let on

British  

verb

1. to allow (something, such as a secret) to be known; reveal

   he never let on that he was married

2. (tr) to cause or encourage to be believed; pretend

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let on Idioms  

1. Reveal one's true feelings or a fact, allow something to be known, as in Don't let on that you met her before . This usage is probably a shortening of let it on someone . [c. 1700]

2. Pretend, as in He let on that he was very angry, but in fact he didn't care a bit . [First half of 1800s] Also see let in on .

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

let on

All that Lobga let on was, “I’m thinking something. I’m thinking,” Thupten Chonyi recalled.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

The total cost to train and run DeepSeek’s model was exponentially higher than the company let on, and investors failed to consider that businesses generally wouldn’t use Chinese models due to security concerns.

From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026

She does let on that the team looked at "some very innovative ways" to get Paddington moving, but says traditional puppetry was ruled out.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2025

Then again, almost all of these people — the main characters and minor — are needier than they’d like to let on.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2025

“You mustn’t let on you know,” said Henry.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt