verb
- Make believe with the intent to deceive.
- usage: "He feigned that he was ill"; "He shammed a headache"
- Behave unnaturally or affectedly.
- usage: "She's just acting"
- Put forward a claim and assert right or possession of.
- usage: "pretend the title of King"
- synonyms: pretend
- Put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation.
- usage: "I am guessing that the price of real estate will rise again"; "I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong"
- Represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like.
- usage: "She makes like an actress"
- synonyms: make, pretend, make believe
- State insincerely.
- usage: "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"
adjective
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). pretended. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/pretended/definitions/1181323 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "pretended" http://smartdefine.org/pretended/definitions/1181323 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, pretended, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/pretended/definitions/1181323>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "pretended" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/pretended/definitions/1181323> |