Definition Definition

pretend - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'pretend' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Pretend [ v. i.]
- To put in, or make, a claim, truly or falsely; to allege a title; to lay claim to, or strive after, something; -- usually with to.
- To hold out the appearance of being, possessing, or performing; to profess; to make believe; to feign; to sham; as, to pretend to be asleep.
2 . Pretend [ v. t.]
- To lay a claim to; to allege a title to; to claim.
- To hold before, or put forward, as a cloak or disguise for something else; to exhibit as a veil for something hidden.
- To hold out, or represent, falsely; to put forward, or offer, as true or real (something untrue or unreal); to show hypocritically, or for the purpose of deceiving; to simulate; to feign; as, to pretend friendship.
- To intend; to design; to plot; to attempt.
- To hold before one; to extend.

Meaning of 'pretend' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . pretend [ n]
Meaning (1):
- the enactment of a pretense
Example in sentence:
  • it was just pretend
2 . pretend [ v]
Meaning (2):
- make believe with the intent to deceive
Example in sentence:
  • He feigned that he was ill;
  • He shammed a headache
Meaning (3):
- state insincerely
Example in sentence:
  • 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
Meaning (4):
- put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation
Example in sentence:
  • I am guessing that the price of real estate will rise again;
  • I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong
Meaning (5):
- put forward a claim and assert right or possession of
Example in sentence:
  • pretend the title of King
Meaning (6):
- represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like
Example in sentence:
  • She makes like an actress
Meaning (7):
- behave unnaturally or affectedly
Example in sentence:
  • She's just acting
8 . pretend [ s]
Meaning (8):
- imagined as in a play
Example in sentence:
  • dangling their legs in the water to catch pretend fish;
  • play money;
  • the make-believe world of theater

Nearby Words:

pre- preaccusation preace preach preached preacher preachership preachify preaching preachman

See 'pretend' also in:

Dictionary.com Google Translator Wikipedia.com Merriam Webster

Categories

Browse Dictionary