1
as in to pose
to take on a false or deceptive appearance
I pretended that I didn't care that my ex had a new man in her life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in to assume
to present a false appearance of
as if I would ever pretend illness just to take off a day from work
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in faux
being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials
if you were to see the movie's pretend jewels in real life, you wouldn't be fooled for a minute
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in imaginary
not real and existing only in the imagination
it's just a pretend gun, so please pretend that I got you and play dead
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of pretend
Kimberly Stoney, Parents, 19 Mar. 2025
In most fields workers are prone to deny a problem and even pretend to enjoy the abuse.
—James L. Edwards Iii, The Athletic, 13 Mar. 2025
Joseph O’Neill, The New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2025
He is also seen laying in a ball pit with his younger brother Barry, 18 months, and driving through a pretend car wash in a green toy car.
—Hannah Sacks, People.com, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pretend
Verb
Then, pretend to drop your phone and act devastated, showing your family the image of the broken screen.
—Kimberly Stoney, Parents, 19 Mar. 2025
In most fields workers are prone to deny a problem and even pretend to enjoy the abuse.
—James L. Edwards Iii, The Athletic, 13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
On the lawn was one of those pretend cars for children to pretend drive.
—Joseph O’Neill, The New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2025
He is also seen laying in a ball pit with his younger brother Barry, 18 months, and driving through a pretend car wash in a green toy car.
—Hannah Sacks, People.com, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pretend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretend
Verb
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However, the rising demand for financial aid and the decline in international applications pose significant challenges.—
Scott White,
Forbes,
15 Mar. 2025
-
These items can pose a fire hazard if there’s a malfunction or if they are accidentally turned on.—
Toria Sheffield,
People.com,
15 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The act's fine print states that the president can only assume this authority once Congress has declared war.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
18 Mar. 2025
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After all, the default for many people is not to intervene and assume everything's OK, even when things do seem amiss.—
Charles Trepany,
USA TODAY,
18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Where Hailey will opt for sumptuous faux furs and nipped in waists, Justin is most comfortable in big hoodies and bigger shorts.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
22 Mar. 2025
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Many leather cleaners can also clean faux leather, vinyl, rubber and plastic — or at least some combination of them.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Unlike the more familiar real numbers – positive and negative integers, fractions, square roots, cube roots and even numbers such as pi – complex numbers have an imaginary component.—
William Ross,
The Conversation,
10 Mar. 2025
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The system that most captured his imagination was an imaginary device that had launched the field of computer science, the Turing machine.—
Charlie Wood,
Quanta Magazine,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Others lament that young people will lose the chance to build up fluid mental math skills while playing: develop number sense, compute sums and products, budget, compare value, think strategically or reason using simple probability.—
Ann Rutledge,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 2025
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Jericho Rosales plays Quezon, and the cast also includes Mon Confiado, Benjamin Alves, Karylle Yuzon, Romnick Sarmenta, J.C. Santos and Cris Villanueva.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
17 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Taiwan's largest annual war games, held to simulate responses to a possible Chinese invasion, will publicly assume a full-scale attack for the first time in 2027.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
19 Mar. 2025
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From simulating the flow of people, goods, utilities and other life support systems to predicting emergency impacts, digital twins provide a vital, real-time lens into urban complexities.—
Timothy Papandreou,
Forbes,
18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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North Korean group Famous Chollima created fake LinkedIn profiles and used AI for job interviews to land positions at tech companies.—
Megan Poinski,
Forbes,
13 Mar. 2025
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However, the boom in AI image generation and the availability of photo editing software mean that fake images are easier to create than ever.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Putin cannot refuse a ceasefire, without losing the fictitious moral high ground.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN,
11 Mar. 2025
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The report did not mention any instances of dead or fictitious employees getting paid.—
Laura Doan,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pretend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretend. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025.
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