pretender

[ pri-ten-der ]
See synonyms for pretender on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who pretends, especially for a dishonest purpose.

  2. an aspirant or claimant (often followed by to): a pretender to the throne.

  1. a person who makes unjustified or false claims, statements, etc., as about personal status, abilities, intentions, or the like: a pretender to literary genius.

Origin of pretender

1
First recorded in 1585–95; pretend + -er1

Words Nearby pretender

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pretender in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pretender

pretender

/ (prɪˈtɛndə) /


noun
  1. a person who pretends or makes false allegations

  2. a person who mounts a claim, as to a throne or title

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