Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Thesaurus

pretend

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of pretend

1 being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials
  • If you were to see the movie's pretend jewels in real life, you wouldn't be fooled for a minute.
Synonyms of pretend

artificial, bogus, dummy, ersatz, fake, false, faux, imitation, imitative, man-made, mimic, mock, sham, simulated, substitute, synthetic
Words Related to pretend

cultured, manufactured, process

unauthentic

adulterated, designer, doctored, engineered, fudged, juggled, manipulated, tampered (with)

concocted, fabricated

counterfeit, deceptive, forged, fraudulent, misleading, phony (also phoney)

affected, feigned, pinchbeck, pseudo, spurious
Near Antonyms of pretend

authentic, bona fide, legitimate, true

premium, quality, valuable

pure, unadulterated
Antonyms of pretend

genuine, natural, real
2 not real and existing only in the imagination
  • The children played on a pretend spaceship.
Synonyms of pretend

chimerical (also chimeric), fabulous, fanciful, fantasied, fantastic (also fantastical), fictional, fictitious, ideal, imaginal, imaginary, imagined, invented, made-up, make-believe, mythical (or mythic), notional, phantasmal, phantasmic, phantom, unreal, visionary
Words Related to pretend

fabled, legendary, romantic

abstract, hypothetical, theoretical (also theoretic)

unbelievable, unconvincing, unlikely

conceived, envisaged, envisioned, pictured, visualized

daydreamlike, deceptive, delusional, delusive, hallucinatory, illusory, phantasmagoric (or phantasmagorical)

concocted, fabricated, feigned, fictive

inexistent, nonexistent
Near Antonyms of pretend

authentic, genuine, true

factual, verifiable, verified

believable, convincing, realistic

corporeal, material, physical, solid, substantial

palpable, tangible
Antonyms of pretend

actual, existent, existing, real

pretend

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of pretend

1 to take on a false or deceptive appearance
  • I pretended that I didn't care what other people had to say about me.
Synonyms of pretend

dissemble, dissimulate, let on, make out
Words Related to pretend

act, impersonate, masquerade, play, playact, pose

affect, assume, counterfeit, fake, feign, profess, put on, sham, simulate

camouflage, conceal, disguise, mask

bluff, feint
Phrases Synonymous with pretend

make a pretense, make a show, make believe, put on an act, put up a front
2 to present a false appearance of
  • As if I would ever pretend illness just to take off a day from work!
Synonyms of pretend

act, affect, assume, bluff, counterfeit, dissemble, fake, feign, pass (for), profess, put on, sham, simulate
Words Related to pretend

dissimulate, impersonate, let on, masquerade, play, playact, pose

forge, imitate

camouflage, conceal, disguise, mask

feint

malinger
Phrases Synonymous with pretend

make believe

Synonym Discussion of pretend

assume, affect, pretend, simulate, feign, counterfeit, sham mean to put on a false or deceptive appearance. assume often implies a justifiable motive rather than an intent to deceive.
    • assumed an air of cheerfulness around the patients
affect implies making a false show of possessing, using, or feeling.
    • affected an interest in art
pretend implies an overt and sustained false appearance.
    • pretended that nothing had happened
simulate suggests a close imitation of the appearance of something.
    • cosmetics that simulate a suntan
feign implies more artful invention than pretend, less specific mimicry than simulate.
    • feigned sickness
counterfeit implies achieving the highest degree of verisimilitude of any of these words.
    • an actor counterfeiting drunkenness
sham implies an obvious falseness that fools only the gullible.
    • shammed a most unconvincing limp

Learn More about pretend

  1. See words that rhyme with pretend Dictionary: Definition of pretend Spanish Central: Translation of pretend Nglish: Translation of pretend for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of pretend for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up pretend? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games