pretend  

Thesaurus for pretend

• adjective
  • synonyms
    • make-believe  
  • similar terms
    • unreal  
• noun
  • synonyms
    • make-believe, feigning, pretence, pretending, pretense, simulation  
• verb
  • synonyms
    • feign, sham, affect, dissemble, act, guess, venture, hazard, make, make believe, profess, arrogate, belie, claim, lay claim, misrepresent, play, represent, speculate  

Pronunciation of pretend: P R IY0 T EH1 N D (prɪ'tɛnd)

Number of syllables of pretend: 2

Definition of pretend

• (n): the enactment of a pretense; "it was just pretend"  
• (v): state insincerely; "He professed innocence but later admitted his guilt"; "She pretended not to have known the suicide bomber"; "She pretends to be an expert on wine"  
• (v): make believe with the intent to deceive; "He feigned that he was ill"; "He shammed a headache"  
• (v): represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like; "She makes like an actress"  
• (v): put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation; "I am guessing that the price of real estate will rise again"; "I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong"  
• (v): behave unnaturally or affectedly; "She''s just acting"  
• (v): put forward a claim and assert right or possession of; "pretend the title of King"  
• (s): imagined as in a play; "the make-believe world of theater"; "play money"; "dangling their legs in the water to catch pretend fish"  

Examples of pretend

• I won't pretend to the level of erudition in that comment.  
• We don't have to pretend we're literal dullards.  
• I had to pretend that I was his moll.  
• Don't pretend that I'm the recalcitrant one.  
• Allen tries to pretend not to notice the princess' infatuation with him.  
• But let's not pretend it's the end of the world.  
• They pretend to check the damage from the storm.  
• I guess you aren't the tough aesthete you pretend to be.  
• I guess you 'really' aren't the tough aesthete you pretend to be.  
• Now, I don't pretend to foresee the future or pre suppose.