Dictionary Definition
pretend adj : imagined as in a play; "the
make-believe world of theater"; "play money"; "dangling their legs
in the water to catch pretend fish" [syn: make-believe]
n : the enactment of a pretense; "it was just pretend" [syn:
make-believe]
Verb
1 make believe with the intent to deceive; "He
feigned that he was ill"; "He shammed a headache" [syn: feign, sham, affect, dissemble]
3 put forward a claim and assert right or
possession of; "pretend the title of King"
4 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" [syn: guess, venture, hazard]
5 represent fictitiously, as in a play, or
pretend to be or act like; "She makes like an actress" [syn:
make, make
believe]
6 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" [syn:
profess]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
From pretendre (French: prétendre (false friend)), from praetendere.Pronunciation
Verb
- to claim that or act as if something is different from what it
actually is, often incorrectly and knowingly
- Don't pretend you didn't know about this!
Usage notes
- This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs
Derived terms
Translations
to act as though something is different from
what it is
- Arabic:
- Chinese: 假装 (jiǎzhuāng)
- Czech: předstírat
- Dutch: voorwenden, doen alsof
- Finnish: teeskennellä
- French: feindre, faire semblant
- German: vorgeben
- Italian: fingere
- Japanese: 振りをする (ふりをする, furi o suru)
- Korean: -인 체하다 (-in chehada)
- Portuguese: fingir
- Russian: делать вид (délat’ víd), притворяться (pritvorját’s’a)
- Spanish: fingir
- Swedish: låtsa
- Ukrainian: удавати (udaváty), вдавати (vdaváty)
Extensive Definition
Pretending could refer to:
- "Pretending (Al Sherman song)", a song by Al Sherman
- "Pretending (HIM song)", a song by HIM
- "Pretending (Eric Clapton song)", a rock song from Eric Clapton's album Journeyman
- Pretend (song), a popular song.
- Pretend (Cheri Dennis song), a single by Cheri Dennis.
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
act, act a
part, adopt, affect, aim to, allege, appropriate, arrogate, assume, attempt, attempt to, avow, bluff, challenge, claim, counterfeit, cover up,
dare, dare to, dissemble, dissimulate, do a bit,
dramatize, encroach, endeavor, fake, feign, four-flush, gammon, hazard, histrionize, infringe, invade, lay claim to, let on, let
on like, make a pretense, make as if, make believe, make bold, make
free, make like, make out, make out like, overact, play, play God, play a part, play a
scene, play possum, playact, presume, pretend to, pretext, profess, protest too much,
purport, put on, put on
airs, represent, seek
to, seize, sham, simulate, strive to, study to,
take over, take the liberty, trespass, try, try and, try to, tug the
heartstrings, undertake, usurp, venture, venture to, wear