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View synonyms for pretender

pretender

[ pri-ten-der ]

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.

  3. a person who makes unjustified or false claims, statements, etc., as about personal status, abilities, intentions, or the like:

    a pretender to literary genius.



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


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Word History and Origins

Origin of pretender1

First recorded in 1585–95; pretend + -er 1
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Example Sentences

Corny posers and pretenders didn’t care about sneakers the way we did; that feeling of opening up a box of new Jordan’s was something that we owned.

From Salon

As of press time, a successor to King Xavier I had not been named, though several pretenders claim the throne as theirs.

This is the One True Kale Salad, beside which all others are pretenders.

“Licorice Pizza,” a shaggy, fitfully brilliant romp from Paul Thomas Anderson, takes place in a 1973 dream of bared midriffs and swinging hair, failures and pretenders.

And “address this” with your friend “again” only if you’re prepared to deliver an abject and heartfelt apology for treating her pain as nothing more than the “ridiculous” pretender to your own.

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