pretend

[ pri-tend ]
See synonyms for: pretendpretendedpretending on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to cause or attempt to cause (what is not so) to seem so: to pretend illness; to pretend that nothing is wrong.

  2. to appear falsely, as to deceive; feign: to pretend to go to sleep.

  1. to make believe: The children pretended to be cowboys.

  2. to presume; venture: I can't pretend to say what went wrong.

  3. to allege or profess, especially insincerely or falsely: He pretended to have no knowledge of her whereabouts.

verb (used without object)
  1. to make believe.

  2. to lay claim to (usually followed by to): She pretended to the throne.

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

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

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

Origin of pretend

1
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.

Other words for pretend

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pretend in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pretend

pretend

/ (prɪˈtɛnd) /


verb
  1. (when tr, usually takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to claim or allege (something untrue)

  2. (tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to make believe, as in a play: you pretend to be Ophelia

  1. (intr foll by to) to present a claim, esp a dubious one: to pretend to the throne

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

adjective
  1. fanciful; make-believe; simulated: a pretend gun

Origin of pretend

1
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