as in fraud
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
it turns out that the guy who claimed to work for a modeling agency was just a pretender
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pretender
With the monetary system in a free-fall, some Iranians would rather have a beneficent king than all these pretenders oh-so-interested in the people.
—
Editorial Board, Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2026
The Patriots are contenders, the Bears pretenders.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 4 Dec. 2025
Not until the 2011-12 broadcast season, or Year 6 of SNF, did NBC’s NFL juggernaut tamp the dirt down over the last pretender.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 21 Nov. 2025
As the difference between contenders and pretenders becomes clearer each week, the Seahawks took a significant step Sunday toward cementing themselves as a team to be reckoned with down the line.
—Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pretender
Editorial Board, Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2026
The Patriots are contenders, the Bears pretenders.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 4 Dec. 2025
Not until the 2011-12 broadcast season, or Year 6 of SNF, did NBC’s NFL juggernaut tamp the dirt down over the last pretender.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 21 Nov. 2025
As the difference between contenders and pretenders becomes clearer each week, the Seahawks took a significant step Sunday toward cementing themselves as a team to be reckoned with down the line.
—Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pretender
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretender
Noun
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Police have so far arrested 38 people on accusations related to the complex, including manslaughter and fraud.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
20 Mar. 2026
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His two co-defendants have also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud but have not yet been sentenced.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The fake was wrong about Karimian, but by the time the Minab strike happened, audiences were primed to believe that a school was a legitimate military target, not the site of a civilian catastrophe.—
Mahsa Alimardani,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
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In this clip, Simpson got his head around after the play fake, saw the backside underneath defender run with the through route.—
Ted Nguyen,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Bedsure Best Seller GentleSoft Pintuck Pinch Pleat For a one-and-done bedding upgrade, consider this set that includes sheets, a comforter, pillowcases, and shams, all for just $45.—
Jacqueline Tempera,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 Mar. 2026
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The results may look deceptively simple—bed sheets, pillow shams, the occasional coverlet—but engrained in those thread counts are hundreds of years spent honing techniques and generations of families honoring lofty traditions.—
Audrey Lee,
Architectural Digest,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The impostors have been presenting themselves as representatives of the Texas Department of Insurance's Division of Workers' Compensation.—
Doug Myers,
CBS News,
25 Feb. 2026
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Days later, a note was sent directly to the Guthrie family, allegedly from a man living in Hawthorne, that authorities now say was an impostor.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The film tells the true and twisted tale of a deceiver of land and folk, who, defying her birth as a woman, comported herself as a man and committed many a wicked deed.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
20 Jan. 2026
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Islamic eschatology warned of a deceiver who distorts perception, blurring reality.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Carl Sagan's baloney detection kit taught us how to separate good science from the work of charlatans.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
10 Feb. 2026
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First up was Ben Shapiro, who described Tucker Carlson and others as grifters and charlatans, guilty of misleading their audiences with falsehoods and conspiracy theories.—
Jonathan J. Cooper,
Fortune,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
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To tell the truly venomous from the fakers, there are a couple details to help distinguish the two.—
Kirsten Fiscus,
Nashville Tennessean,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Good afternoon and welcome to Con Con, the convention for swindlers, mountebanks, and the people who love them.—
Henry Alford,
New Yorker,
1 Dec. 2025
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Godard might have come across as a species of poseur – a pretentious, quote-spouting mountebank – but his way of seeing was genuinely new.—
Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor,
13 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pretender.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretender. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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