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pretend
[ pri-tend ]
verb (used with object)
- 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
- to appear falsely, as to deceive; feign:
to pretend to go to sleep.
- to make believe:
The children pretended to be cowboys.
- to presume; venture:
I can't pretend to say what went wrong.
- to allege or profess, especially insincerely or falsely:
He pretended to have no knowledge of her whereabouts.
verb (used without object)
- to make believe.
- to lay claim to (usually followed by to ):
She pretended to the throne.
- to make pretensions (usually followed by to ):
He pretends to great knowledge.
- Obsolete. to aspire, as a suitor or candidate (followed by to ).
adjective
- Informal. make-believe; simulated; counterfeit:
pretend diamonds.
pretend
/ prɪˈtɛnd /
verb
- when tr, usually takes a clause as object or an infinitive to claim or allege (something untrue)
- tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive to make believe, as in a play
you pretend to be Ophelia
- intrfoll byto to present a claim, esp a dubious one
to pretend to the throne
- obsolete.intrfoll byto to aspire as a candidate or suitor (for)
adjective
- fanciful; make-believe; simulated
a pretend gun
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of pretend1
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Synonym Study
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Example Sentences
For Kirke it was being paid to pretend to play the oboe that heightened her affair with classical music.
The irony has thinned with the economy, perhaps: Who can really afford just to pretend to DIY today?
Sure, some parents would rather pretend their kids would never look at that stuff.
Quickly, the lines between their pretend feelings for each other and their real ones are blurred.
Or: “Jazz: Just pretend you like it, that's what everyone else is doing.”
A quite young child will, for example, pretend to do something, as to take an empty cup and carry out the semblance of drinking.
I believe I murmured something suitable, but it was absurd to pretend to be overjoyed at the news.
That my aspirations were satisfied I do not pretend, for ambition forbade any settled feeling of rest or content.
I've only known Indian rivers for five and twenty years, and I don't pretend to understand.
We shall have to pretend to do some gun practice, and drop a shell on to its surface to find out.
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