pretend

[ pri-tend ]

/ prɪˈtɛnd /

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See synonyms for: pretend / pretended / pretending on Thesaurus.com

Definition of pretend

verb (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.

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 by to): She pretended to the throne.

to make pretensions (usually followed by to): He pretends to great knowledge.

Obsolete. to aspire, as a suitor or candidate (followed by to).

adjective

Informal. make-believe; simulated; counterfeit: pretend diamonds.

OTHER WORDS FOR pretend

1 simulate, fake, sham, counterfeit.

See synonyms for pretend on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

shall

should

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of pretend

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English pretenden, from Latin praetendere “to stretch forth, put forward, pretend.” See pre-, tend¹

synonym study for pretend

1. 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.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH pretend

portend, pretend

Words nearby pretend

pretarsal, pretarsus, pretax, preteen, pretence, pretend, pretended, pretender, pretense, pretension, pretensive

How to use pretend in a sentence

Let’s pretend that politicians wake up and don’t reopen restaurants and we avoid a big wave in March.
Why Opening Restaurants Is Exactly What the Coronavirus Wants Us to Do|Caroline Chen|February 6, 2021|ProPublica
After a certain point, you can’t even pretend that you have control.
This is how we lost control of our faces|Karen Hao|February 5, 2021|MIT Technology Review
We should not pretend that the Facebook Oversight Board is more than a McGuffin designed to distract us from serious issues.
Facebook's "Oversight Board" Is a Sham. The Answer to the Capitol Riot Is Regulating Social Media|Maria Ressa|January 28, 2021|Time
It’s terrible, and you constantly have to pretend you like it.
Why You Don't Feel as Fulfilled From Your Job as You Think You Should|Eliana Dockterman|January 25, 2021|Time

I wasn’t, but I pretended otherwise, just to see if Pennyroyal Station followed through on requests.
Like a good neighbor, Pennyroyal Station is there for you|Tom Sietsema|January 22, 2021|Washington Post
For Kirke it was being paid to pretend to play the oboe that heightened her affair with classical music.
‘Mozart in the Jungle’: Inside Amazon’s Brave New World of Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music|Kevin Fallon|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The irony has thinned with the economy, perhaps: Who can really afford just to pretend to DIY today?
Glenn Beck Is Now Selling Hipster Clothes. Really.|Ana Marie Cox|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sure, some parents would rather pretend their kids would never look at that stuff.
The Next Frontier of Sex Ed: How Porn Twists Teens’ Brains|Aurora Snow|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Quickly, the lines between their pretend feelings for each other and their real ones are blurred.
Team Peeta or Team Gale: Why the ‘Hunger Games’ Love Triangle Ruins ‘Mockingjay – Part 1’|Kevin Fallon|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Or: “Jazz: Just pretend you like it, that's what everyone else is doing.”
What’s With This Uncool Surge in Jazz Bashing?|Ted Gioia|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A quite young child will, for example, pretend to do something, as to take an empty cup and carry out the semblance of drinking.
Children's Ways|James Sully
I believe I murmured something suitable, but it was absurd to pretend to be overjoyed at the news.
Uncanny Tales|Various
That my aspirations were satisfied I do not pretend, for ambition forbade any settled feeling of rest or content.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
I've only known Indian rivers for five and twenty years, and I don't pretend to understand.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
We shall have to pretend to do some gun practice, and drop a shell on to its surface to find out.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for pretend

pretend

/ (prɪˈtɛnd) /

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 playyou pretend to be Ophelia

(intr foll by to) to present a claim, esp a dubious oneto pretend to the throne

(intr foll by to) obsolete to aspire as a candidate or suitor (for)

adjective

fanciful; make-believe; simulateda pretend gun

Word Origin for pretend

C14: from Latin praetendere to stretch forth, feign, from prae in front + tendere to stretch

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

pretend

Definition of pretend

OTHER WORDS FOR pretend

Origin of pretend

synonym study for pretend

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH pretend

Words nearby pretend

Words related to pretend

How to use pretend in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pretend

Word Origin for pretend