pretend to (something)

phrase

formal

: to claim that one has (something, such as a quality or ability)

She pretends to a deep religious devotion, but I don't believe her.

—usually used in negative statements

I don't pretend to any expertise in these matters.

Examples of pretend to (something) in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Healey is clearly not a hunter and looks ridiculous trying to pretend to be one. — Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 21 Mar. 2026

The group was struggling because one had been diagnosed with late-stage cancer; because only two of the women were legally married, the third had to pretend to be a sister for hospital visits. — Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026

As a kid, the Huntington, Indiana, native would pretend to do TV weather in the basement of his childhood home, studying positions of weather systems, according to his staff bio. — Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer, 18 Mar. 2026

In the first type of attack, hackers pretend to be Signal customer support, and ask for a verification code that a victim is sent from Signal, along with the victim’s PIN number. — Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 14 Mar. 2026