pretend
Americanverb (used with object)
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pretends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pretended,
past participle, past
-
pretending
present participle
-
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
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to appear falsely, as to deceive; feign.
to pretend to go to sleep.
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to make believe.
The children pretended to be cowboys.
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to presume; venture.
I can't pretend to say what went wrong.
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to allege or profess, especially insincerely or falsely.
He pretended to have no knowledge of her whereabouts.
verb (used without object)
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pretends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pretended,
past participle, past
-
pretending
present participle
-
to make believe.
-
to lay claim to (usually followed byto ).
She pretended to the throne.
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to make pretensions (usually followed byto ).
He pretends to great knowledge.
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Obsolete. to aspire, as a suitor or candidate (followed byto ).
adjective
verb
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(when tr, usually takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to claim or allege (something untrue)
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(tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to make believe, as in a play
you pretend to be Ophelia
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to present a claim, esp a dubious one
to pretend to the throne
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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
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pretendsimple
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pretendssimple
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have pretendedperfect
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has pretendedperfect
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am pretendingprogressive
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are pretendingprogressive
-
is pretendingprogressive
-
have been pretendingperfect progressive
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has been pretendingperfect progressive
Past
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pretendedsimple
-
had pretendedperfect
-
was pretendingprogressive
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were pretendingprogressive
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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"
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"Eleven," Vocabulary from the short story
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"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll, Chapters 1–3
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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:
And this "enabled the club to pretend that such funds represented operating income".
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
In short, pretend work is now standing in for real work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
Or, when caught, how to pretend to be shut down.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
So when, like Tom, we can no longer pretend that truly terrible things aren’t happening, what should we do next?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Like maybe we might talk, or I might say hey back, that we might pretend we never fought and go eat lunch together.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
The fires are not a freak event, and no one in Greece pretends they are.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
In other words, European rearmament will take time, and nobody even pretends that European troops are today fully prepared to replace American brigades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
"He is not happy, he pretends he is happy," said Tamim.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Rhonda had fallen victim to what is known as impersonation scam, where a fraudster pretends to be from a bank or other financial institution.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
Or maybe she just pretends not to see me.
From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon
Also this year, Cohen’s press officer secretly was recorded by a woman who pretended to be on a date with him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
A classic Arabic expression describes the brazen audacity of those who attack and then cry victim: “He slapped me, pretended to cry, and then ran to complain.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
He then pretended to board the old Air Force One, only to secretly switch planes by hiding in a refueling truck, due to security threats.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
Instead, Owens pretended there are numerous holes in the case.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
This is a woman who had wanted to be a nun once upon a time, who had pretended to be Joan of Arc.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Prosecutors have said Linton was pretending to seize during the tests, noting the scan itself did not show brain activity consistent with an epileptic episode during the moments when she was physically reacting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
If you are consciously aware that you're pretending or you're saying things that aren't true, then it's bad acting.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
Last year, a Romanian national was arrested when he tried to re-enter the U.S. in a Mexican ambulance pretending to be an injured American, court records show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Maybe it’s bad news when even the economists have quit pretending that everything will be fine.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Not just in the morning when they were late or at recess and lunch, but now, when everyone was learning or being taught or sitting there pretending one or the other?
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
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.
