1
as in to pose
to take on a false or deceptive appearance
I pretended that I didn't care that my ex had a new man in her life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in to assume
to present a false appearance of
as if I would ever pretend illness just to take off a day from work
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in faux
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 & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in imaginary
not real and existing only in the imagination
it's just a pretend gun, so please pretend that I got you and play dead
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of pretend
Juliana Kim, NPR, 5 Oct. 2025
The individual pretending to be a deputy first instructed the user to pay the money by PayPal, but then instructed the man to use an ATM and provided a QR code, according to the complaint.
—Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2025
Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 24 Aug. 2025
The campus contains a movie set-like area with a pretend neighborhood and main street for trainees to act out rescue situations and serve warrants.
—Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 23 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pretend
Verb
Rather, the goal is to pretend to kill or torture members of the opposing side, according to Yaroslava Mozghova, head of programs for War Child Alliance in Ukraine.
—Juliana Kim, NPR, 5 Oct. 2025
The individual pretending to be a deputy first instructed the user to pay the money by PayPal, but then instructed the man to use an ATM and provided a QR code, according to the complaint.
—Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
The Open is like a Disney World of tennis, only nothing is pretend.
—Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 24 Aug. 2025
The campus contains a movie set-like area with a pretend neighborhood and main street for trainees to act out rescue situations and serve warrants.
—Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 23 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pretend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretend
Verb
-
Flooding is no longer expected to pose a threat.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
4 Oct. 2025
-
The Netflix series is based on the Danish format Det Sidste Ord (The Last Word), which offers final interviews where major cultural icons, whether from the world of the arts, sports, politics or elsewhere, can look back on their lives with only someone posing questions in front of them.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Additionally, vice president of operations Donna Washington will assume a new role as vice president of external affairs.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Oct. 2025
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Enterprises often assume that simply scaling data—collecting millions more images or video hours—will close the performance gap.—
Brian Moore,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The elastic waistband stretches to move with you, and the pants come with faux buttons to make slipping them on a breeze.—
Nicol Natale,
PEOPLE,
2 Oct. 2025
-
The Philadelphia Eagles create a faux baseball game, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill used to mimic a potato sack race, and so on.—
Tyler Palmateer,
Nashville Tennessean,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
While their mother is not in the picture, Judy seeks guidance from her boss, Alyson (Megan Mullally), and her imaginary friend, Alanis Morissette (voicing herself), who appears to her in the Northern Lights.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The opportunities for newcomers to be in larger meetings may have been more imaginary than real.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In the Carmel area, the trail passes a cool play space and Midtown Plaza, where the family can play a little ping-pong or corn hole, grab a bite to eat, or just relax on the bench swings.—
Beth Luberecki,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
-
The Stars played their first eight seasons in Reunion Arena, located in downtown Dallas.—
Rob Rossi,
New York Times,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Lighting systems are used throughout the streets to simulate daytime conditions, and in turn, the paddock operates on European time.—
Madeline Coleman,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
-
OpenAI also claims that Sora is a step toward an AI model that can accurately simulate the world.—
Billy Perrigo,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Methanol is an industrial chemical that can cause nerve and liver damage and is sometimes found in fake or poorly distilled alcohol.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
5 Oct. 2025
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Aside from games like volleyball and dominoes, Gach says some children stage fake ambushes on one another while pretending to be government forces or rebel fighters.—
Juliana Kim,
NPR,
5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Garcia-Hernandez allegedly has convictions for giving fictitious information, evading arrest, driving while intoxicated and fleeing police.—
Lauren Villagran,
USA Today,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Supervisors Janet Nguyen and Don Wagner raised concerns at the board’s Tuesday meeting about fictitious registrations following recent news of a dog that was registered to vote in two recent state elections and a lawsuit by the federal government over noncitizen voter records.—
Claire Wang,
Oc Register,
24 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pretend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretend. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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