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, factitious, fake, false, faux, imitation, imitative, man-made, mimic, mock, sham, simulated, substitute, synthetic

Words Related to pretend

cultured, manufactured, process

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

concocted, fabricated

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

affected, brummagem, 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

it's just a pretend gun, so please pretend that I got you and play dead

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 that my ex had a new man in her life

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

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

camouflage, conceal, disguise, mask

Phrases Synonymous with pretend

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

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

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