pretend

/prəˈtɛnd/

/prɪˈtɛnd/

Other forms: pretended; pretending; pretends; pretendedly; pretendingly

To pretend is to act as if you're someone else. If you pretend to be your mother for a phone conference with your math teacher, try putting on her high heels to help you get into character.

When children or actors are pretending, it's fine, just playing. But if you pretend to someone who doesn't know you're just playing, you're likely to be condemned for it. No one likes it of you pretend to be a good member of the community just so people won't suspect you when you steal things from their houses. You might pretend you went to Harvard to impress someone, but if he finds out you didn't, he'll be very unimpressed.

Definitions of pretend

1. verb

   make believe with the intent to deceive
   synonyms: affect, dissemble, feign, sham

   make, make believe

   represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like

   types:

   play possum

   to pretend to be dead

   take a dive

   pretend to be knocked out, as of a boxer

   bull, fake, talk through one's hat

   speak insincerely or without regard for facts or truths

   mouth

   articulate silently; form words with the lips only

   lip-sync, lip-synch

   move the lips in synchronization (with recorded speech or song)

   type of:

   belie, misrepresent

   represent falsely
2. verb

   behave unnaturally or affectedly
   synonyms: act, dissemble

   act, behave, do

   behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself

   types:

   assume, feign, sham, simulate

   make a pretence of

   play

   pretend to be somebody in the framework of a game or playful activity

   feint

   deceive by a mock action
3. verb

   represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like
   synonyms: make, make believe

   affect, dissemble, feign, sham

   make believe with the intent to deceive

   types:

   go through the motions

   pretend to do something by acting as if one was really doing it

   type of:

   act, play, represent

   play a role or part
4. verb

   put forward a claim and assert right or possession of
   “pretend the title of King”

   type of:

   arrogate, claim, lay claim

   demand as being one's due or property; assert one's right or title to
5. verb

   put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation
   “I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong”

   synonyms: guess, hazard, venture

   types:

   anticipate, call, forebode, foretell, predict, prognosticate, promise

   make a prediction about; tell in advance

   surmise, suspect

   imagine to be the case or true or probable

   read

   interpret the significance of, as of palms, tea leaves, intestines, the sky; also of human behavior

   outguess, second-guess

   attempt to anticipate or predict

   augur

   predict from an omen

   bet, wager

   maintain with or as if with a bet

   calculate, forecast, project

   predict in advance

   prophesy, vaticinate

   predict or reveal through, or as if through, divine inspiration

   type of:

   speculate

   talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way and with an element of doubt or without sufficient reason to reach a conclusion
6. verb

   state insincerely
   synonyms: profess

   type of:

   claim

   assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing
7. adjective

   imagined as in a play
   “dangling their legs in the water to catch pretend fish”

   synonyms: make-believe

   unreal

   lacking in reality or substance or genuineness; not corresponding to acknowledged facts or criteria
8. noun

   the enactment of a pretense
   “it was just pretend”

   synonyms: make-believe

   type of:

   feigning, pretence, pretending, pretense, simulation

   the act of giving a false appearance