pretend
verb (used with object)
to cause or attempt to cause (what is not so) to seem so.
pretending
-
present participleof pretend.present participle
A verb form that is used in progressive verb constructions and may also function as a modifier or a gerund.
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.
Anthropic’s model was conducting a test involving interactions with randomly selected websites when it submitted the tip pretending to be someone who might have information about an unsolved case, police said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
It’s more money for more stuff, when you should be at least pretending to care about the future.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
It would be strange for the Dodgers to bench Shohei Ohtani, but it’s clear that pretending he’s healthy enough to provide meaningful at-bats isn’t helping.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Learning how to fall and pretending you have superpowers can’t cancel out physics.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
They had been pretending not to know each other on the tour for laughs.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
