 pretend |
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| 1. | [ verb ] make believe with the intent to deceive | |
| Synonyms: | affect feign dissemble sham | |
| Examples: | "He feigned that he was ill" "He shammed a headache" |
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| Related terms: | misrepresent mouth play_possum waffle take_a_dive make hypocrite imposter pretense pretense malingerer | |
| 2. | [ verb ] behave unnaturally or affectedly | |
| Synonyms: | act dissemble | |
| Examples: | "She's just acting" |
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| Related terms: | simulate act act | |
| 3. | [ verb ] state insincerely | |
| Synonyms: | profess | |
| Examples: | "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" |
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| Related terms: | claim | |
| 4. | [ noun ] the enactment of a pretense | |
| Synonyms: | make-believe | |
| Examples: | "it was just pretend" |
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| Related terms: | pretense make | |
| 5. | [ verb ] put forward a claim and assert right or possession of | |
| Examples: | "pretend the title of King" |
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| Related terms: | claim pretender | |
| 6. | [ verb ] put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation | |
| Synonyms: | guess venture hazard | |
| Examples: | "I am guessing that the price of real estate will rise again" "I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong" |
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| Related terms: | speculate predict suspect luck guess guesser | |
| 7. | [ verb ] (theater) represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like | |
| Synonyms: | make_believe make | |
| Examples: | "She makes like an actress" |
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| Related terms: | act imitate go_through_the_motions feign | |
| 8. | [ adjective ] imagined as in a play | |
| Synonyms: | play make-believe | |
| Examples: | "the make-believe world of theater" "play money" "dangling their legs in the water to catch pretend fish" |
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| Related terms: | unreal | |
| Similar spelling: |
pretender pretended preteen pretending pretension pretense pretence Pruden proton prudent protein protean pro_tem prudence prudently proteome |
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