as in to pretend
to take on a false or deceptive appearance
she's not half as innocent as she likes to let on
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Recent Examples of let on
But the mission, dubbed Hail Mary, is far more dire than initially let on — not only is the sun dying, but so are all the stars.
—
Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2025
Naturally, Charlie begins nosing around with the encouragement of her new friend, Alex (Patti Harrison), and discovers there’s more to the sweaty gym than lets on.
—Matt Minton, Variety, 26 June 2025
Despite the Charles Bronson-goes-to-Yeshiva energy of the trailer, there may be more to the story than producers are letting on.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 20 June 2025
The president is signaling that the U.S. is already more involved in the conflict than the White House previously let on, NPR's Franco Ordoñez tells Up First.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for let on
Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2025
Naturally, Charlie begins nosing around with the encouragement of her new friend, Alex (Patti Harrison), and discovers there’s more to the sweaty gym than lets on.
—Matt Minton, Variety, 26 June 2025
Despite the Charles Bronson-goes-to-Yeshiva energy of the trailer, there may be more to the story than producers are letting on.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 20 June 2025
The president is signaling that the U.S. is already more involved in the conflict than the White House previously let on, NPR's Franco Ordoñez tells Up First.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for let on
Recent Examples of Synonyms for let on
pretend
Verb
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But that injury was balanced out by years of creative play that kept my kids climbing, pretending, and running around with friends independently.—
Carrie Lukas,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
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Many businesses closing in Urfa were previously non-production businesses, established at zero cost with government incentives, used as warehouses while pretending to operate, and then declared bankrupt.—
Mayu Saini,
Sourcing Journal,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Let on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/let%20on. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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