pretend to (something)
idiom
formal
: to claim that one has (something, such as a quality or ability)
She pretends to a deep religious devotion, but I don't believe her.
—usually used in negative statementsI don't pretend to any expertise in these matters.
Examples of pretend to (something) in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Doctor’s trusty sonic screwdriver has been redesigned to resemble a remote control or flip phone, because Davies worried that the old sonic looked too much like a gun, which would encourage kids to pretend to shoot at one another.
—
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 2024
In reality, the mission was to steal the vessels and pretend to discover them in international waters — exactly what the team did.
—Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024
The girls, for instance, love to pretend to be a couple of irascible grannies, usually causing trouble for the people around them, but occasionally proving helpful.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
As a critic, maybe I’m supposed to pretend to that kind of finality.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2024
Because being Beyoncé means never having to pretend to be just one thing.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 29 Mar. 2024
In one incident in the writers’ room, Kilgen alleges that Schneider asked Stratton to lean over the table and pretend to be sodomized.
—Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024
But Rivian can set itself apart with vehicles that are actually capable of fairly serious off-road driving, something most electric SUVs don’t even pretend to be able to handle.
—Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024
To make each of their exes jealous, Bea and Ben, who secretly can’t stand each other, pretend to be madly in love at the wedding.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 19 Mar. 2024
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 2024
In reality, the mission was to steal the vessels and pretend to discover them in international waters — exactly what the team did.
—Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024
The girls, for instance, love to pretend to be a couple of irascible grannies, usually causing trouble for the people around them, but occasionally proving helpful.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
As a critic, maybe I’m supposed to pretend to that kind of finality.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2024
Because being Beyoncé means never having to pretend to be just one thing.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 29 Mar. 2024
In one incident in the writers’ room, Kilgen alleges that Schneider asked Stratton to lean over the table and pretend to be sodomized.
—Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024
But Rivian can set itself apart with vehicles that are actually capable of fairly serious off-road driving, something most electric SUVs don’t even pretend to be able to handle.
—Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024
To make each of their exes jealous, Bea and Ben, who secretly can’t stand each other, pretend to be madly in love at the wedding.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 19 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pretend to (something).' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near pretend to (something)
Cite this Entry
“Pretend to (something).” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pretend%20to%20%28something%29. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
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