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
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.
Rand pretended to be me and I pretended to be Rand,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
In response to a separate question about political disquiet, Forbes said that "politicians have pretended to be able to deliver utopia for too long".
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 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
“He looks like Eliot Ness,” the president declared of his veep in a televised Cabinet meeting in May while high-level administration officials pretended to laugh.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
Michael pretended to be intensely interested in the fishbowl full of entries.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
