pretend
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
-
to appear falsely, as to deceive; feign.
to pretend to go to sleep.
-
to make believe.
The children pretended to be cowboys.
-
to presume; venture.
I can't pretend to say what went wrong.
-
to allege or profess, especially insincerely or falsely.
He pretended to have no knowledge of her whereabouts.
verb (used without object)
-
to make believe.
-
to lay claim to (usually followed byto ).
She pretended to the throne.
-
to make pretensions (usually followed byto ).
He pretends to great knowledge.
-
Obsolete. to aspire, as a suitor or candidate (followed byto ).
adjective
verb
-
(when tr, usually takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to claim or allege (something untrue)
-
(tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to make believe, as in a play
you pretend to be Ophelia
-
to present a claim, esp a dubious one
to pretend to the throne
-
obsolete to aspire as a candidate or suitor (for)
adjective
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
pretendsimple
-
pretendssimple
-
have pretendedperfect
-
has pretendedperfect
-
am pretendingprogressive
-
are pretendingprogressive
-
is pretendingprogressive
-
have been pretendingperfect progressive
-
has been pretendingperfect progressive
Past
-
pretendedsimple
-
had pretendedperfect
-
was pretendingprogressive
-
were pretendingprogressive
-
had been pretendingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
To pretend is to act as if you're someone else. If you pretend to be your mother for a phone conference with your math teacher, try putting on her high heels to help you get into character. When children or actors are pretending, it's fine, just playing. But if you pretend to someone who doesn't know you're just playing, you're likely to be condemned for it. No one likes it of you pretend to be a good member of the community just so people won't suspect you when you steal things from their houses. You might pretend you went to Harvard to impress someone, but if he finds out you didn't, he'll be very unimpressed.
Vocabulary lists containing pretend
"Eleven"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Eleven," Vocabulary from the short story
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll, Chapters 1–3
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
I wouldn’t say anyone’s asking for this, but we want to do some little wish fulfillment, or just live in a world where you can pretend that this is happening.
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2026
Here's the secret: pretend you're making it for someone else.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
In 1976, having come through the tumultuous period of the Vietnam War, Watergate and massive social change, the country seemed to be in the mood to pretend they had all never happened.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
“I feel good about what we did, but I’m not going to pretend like it was our first choice.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
If I’m going to pretend nothing happened, like I told Celia, I should at least go say hi.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
What’s disheartening is that she pretends there is no connection, telling Vogue Italia last week, “Algorithms and artificial intelligence are the opposite of taking risks to me, and that is the opposite of making art.”
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
"He is not happy, he pretends he is happy," said Tamim.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Sean O'Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the country's biggest unions, verbally attacked Mullin at a 2023 hearing, calling him a "greedy CEO who pretends like he's self-made".
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
He is not the muscular president he pretends to be on television.
From Slate ● Jan. 23, 2026
Sneaky pretends to cough, and Kiki moves to another seat.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
He opened the door to the briefing room a crack, drew a laugh as he pretended to sneak in, made a short announcement and took questions.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026
It’s been widely reported that in the ’80s and ’90s, Trump sometimes pretended to be his own publicist, John Barron, when talking to reporters.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 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
On my bike, away from social constraints, I often pretended to be in a battle, yelling at my troops, or I sang at the top of my lungs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
My mother called me down for supper, but I pretended at first to have a headache.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
If this is really the first World Cup game you have watched: Don’t worry, those aren’t dead bodies, they’re just pretending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Residents have been receiving troubling calls from people pretending to be their grandchildren, swindling them out of thousands of dollars.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Take Friday's five hours of limbo, when Fifa first decided to change the kick-off time of England's last-16 tie against Mexico, then did a U-turn, while pretending it didn't happen.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
"There is a possibility that bad actors may claim usernames... and message other users while pretending to be someone they are not," the English-language daily quoted a senior government official as saying.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
And why was Dad pretending he didn’t know she was there?
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
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.
