put-on

1 of 3

adjective

ˈpu̇t-ˈȯn 

-ˈän

: pretended, assumed

put-on

2 of 3

noun

ˈpu̇t-ˌȯn 

-ˌän

1

: an instance of putting someone on

conversational put-ons are related to old-fashioned joshing

—Jacob Brackman

2

: parody, spoof

a kind of put-on of every pretentious film ever made

—C. A. Ridley

put on

3 of 3

verb

put on; putting on; puts on

transitive verb

1

a

: to dress oneself in : don

b

: to make part of one's appearance or behavior

c

: feign

put a saintly manner on

2

: to cause to act or operate : apply

put on more speed

3

a

: add

put on weight

b

: exaggerate, overstate

4

: perform, produce

put on a play

5

a

: to mislead deliberately especially for amusement

the interviewer … must be put down—or possibly, put on

—Melvin Maddocks

b

: kid entry 3 sense 1

you're putting me on

Synonyms

Adjective

• affected
• artificial
• assumed
• bogus
• contrived
• factitious
• fake
• false
• feigned
• forced
• mechanical
• mock
• phony
• phoney
• plastic
• pretended
• pseudo
• sham
• simulated
• spurious
• strained
• unnatural

Noun

• act
• airs
• charade
• disguise
• facade
• façade
• front
• guise
• masquerade
• playacting
• pose
• pretense
• pretence
• semblance
• show

Verb

• don
• slip (on or into)
• throw (on)

Examples of put-on in a Sentence

Adjective

a put-on goofy voice

Noun

my bravery was all a put-on—I was scared out of my wits

for a moment, I couldn't tell if the commercial was serious or a deadpan put-on of ads by other insurance companies

Verb

I put on a coat and shoes to go outside.

some critics are putting it on when they say it's the best comedy ever made

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

In the end, as Reno and the reader may have sensed all along, her detachment is just another performance, a cool-girl put-on not so different from Rachel K’s burlesque. —Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 3 Sep. 2024

The counterargument is that the persona is a put-on — that the real Vance is the guy who wanted the establishment to just be 15 percent less out of touch, and that if Trump exits the scene, that guy is the one who will actually govern. —Megan McArdle, Washington Post, 15 July 2024

An artist on the court and a put-on artist off, Walton was an all-time great basketball player, the world’s tallest Grateful Dead groupie, a philosopher, hyperbolic orator and comedian. —Bob Raissman, New York Daily News, 1 June 2024

While broadly based in reality, the entire movie is a put-on, a wackazoid tall tale, a comedy that uses the breakfast wars as the jumping-off point for a high-camp exercise in nostalgic lunacy. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 3 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1625, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1919, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

put-on

1 of 2 noun

ˈpu̇t-ˌȯn,

-ˌän

1

: a false appearance or presentation

my bravery was all a put-on

2

: a joke in which someone is fooled

put on

2 of 2 verb

(ˈ)pu̇t-ˈȯn,

-ˈän

1

a

: to dress oneself in

b

: to make part of one's appearance or behavior

c

: pretend entry 1 sense 1

put on a show of anger

2

: exaggerate, overstate

they're putting it on when they make such claims

3

: perform sense 3b, produce

put on an entertaining act

4

: kid entry 2 sense 1, fool

you're putting me on

put-on adjective