put-on

1 of 3

adjective

ˈpu̇t-ˈȯn 

-ˈän

: pretended, assumed

put-on

2 of 3

noun

ˈpu̇t-ˌȯn 

-ˌän

1

: an instance of putting someone on

conversational put-ons are related to old-fashioned joshing

—Jacob Brackman

2

: parody, spoof

a kind of put-on of every pretentious film ever made

—C. A. Ridley

put on

3 of 3

verb

put on; putting on; puts on

transitive verb

1

a

: to dress oneself in : don

b

: to make part of one's appearance or behavior

c

: feign

put a saintly manner on

2

: to cause to act or operate : apply

put on more speed

3

a

: add

put on weight

b

: exaggerate, overstate

4

: perform, produce

put on a play

5

a

: to mislead deliberately especially for amusement

the interviewer … must be put down—or possibly, put on

—Melvin Maddocks

b

: kid entry 3 sense 1

you're putting me on

Synonyms

Adjective

• affected
• artificial
• assumed
• bogus
• contrived
• factitious
• fake
• false
• feigned
• forced
• mechanical
• mock
• phony
• phoney
• plastic
• pretended
• pseudo
• sham
• simulated
• spurious
• strained
• unnatural

Noun

• act
• airs
• charade
• disguise
• facade
• façade
• front
• guise
• masquerade
• playacting
• pose
• pretense
• pretence
• semblance
• show

Verb

• don
• slip (on or into)
• throw (on)

Examples of put-on in a Sentence

Adjective

a put-on goofy voice

Noun

my bravery was all a put-on—I was scared out of my wits

for a moment, I couldn't tell if the commercial was serious or a deadpan put-on of ads by other insurance companies

Verb

I put on a coat and shoes to go outside.

some critics are putting it on when they say it's the best comedy ever made

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Turns out, dat good ole dialect is a put-on: James speaks like a professor. —Rachel Flynn, People.com, 3 Dec. 2024

Also, Burgess is British IRL, so props to him for faking a bad accent, then using a put-on American one for the rest of the episode. —Sara Netzley, EW.com, 29 Oct. 2024

Verb

While certain essential government functions would continue, federal employees would be put on unpaid furlough and the shutdown could affect other Americans by impacting the Social Security Administration and federal food assistance programs like SNAP. —Aila Slisco, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024

In the case of a government shutdown, those workers are put on leave because there isn't money budgeted for their job. —Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1625, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1919, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

put-on

1 of 2 noun

ˈpu̇t-ˌȯn,

-ˌän

1

: a false appearance or presentation

my bravery was all a put-on

2

: a joke in which someone is fooled

put on

2 of 2 verb

(ˈ)pu̇t-ˈȯn,

-ˈän

1

a

: to dress oneself in

b

: to make part of one's appearance or behavior

c

: pretend entry 1 sense 1

put on a show of anger

2

: exaggerate, overstate

they're putting it on when they make such claims

3

: perform sense 3b, produce

put on an entertaining act

4

: kid entry 2 sense 1, fool

you're putting me on

put-on adjective