1
as in mock
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality
he shows a pretended affection for his girlfriend's cat
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fake
not being or expressing what one appears to be or express
hoped that his pretended interest in classical music would impress the boss
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in posed
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
2
as in assumed
to present a false appearance of
as if I would ever pretend illness just to take off a day from work
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pretended
Sam Sacks, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2022
The woman is long gone, so Freer has to imagine her consent — in a history so full of gaps, coercion, and disappearance, a pretended connection is better than none at all.
—Helen Shaw, Vulture, 28 Mar. 2022
No, seriously: People were very upset by these shoes, or at least pretended to be.
—Heather Wilhelm, National Review, 31 Aug. 2017
Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
In the end, Zac – who pretended to be rich – and Sharma – who pretended to be his mentor – were both imposters.
—Frank Langfitt, NPR, 4 Apr. 2026
The criminals pretended to work for the FBI.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 Mar. 2026
This time, the scammers pretended to be representatives of Indiana and Maryland’s courts.
—Saleen Martin, USA Today, 20 Mar. 2026
Moïse told jurors she was shot first, then pretended to be dead.
—Tania Francois, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026
The fake store contained an app that pretended to come from Brazil’s social security system, which Kaspersky analyzed and found to be malicious.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 10 Mar. 2026
Federal agents pretended to be NYPD plainclothes officers looking for a missing child to kidnap a Columbia University student in university housing.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 4 Mar. 2026
Then, an experimenter presented the bonobo with two empty, transparent cups and pretended to pour juice from an empty pitcher into each cup.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
What most activates Dunn’s rage is the misogyny that only deepened amid all the pretended freedoms of the counterculture.
—Sam Sacks, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2022
The woman is long gone, so Freer has to imagine her consent — in a history so full of gaps, coercion, and disappearance, a pretended connection is better than none at all.
—Helen Shaw, Vulture, 28 Mar. 2022
No, seriously: People were very upset by these shoes, or at least pretended to be.
—Heather Wilhelm, National Review, 31 Aug. 2017
Verb
Such stories play upon our own imaginings; anyone who’s run a toy car across the landscape of a floor, or pretended a planter was a jungle, or made a mountain out of a mound, or projected themselves into a model train layout — indeed, a scene here — will relate.
—Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
In the end, Zac – who pretended to be rich – and Sharma – who pretended to be his mentor – were both imposters.
—Frank Langfitt, NPR, 4 Apr. 2026
The criminals pretended to work for the FBI.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 Mar. 2026
This time, the scammers pretended to be representatives of Indiana and Maryland’s courts.
—Saleen Martin, USA Today, 20 Mar. 2026
Moïse told jurors she was shot first, then pretended to be dead.
—Tania Francois, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026
The fake store contained an app that pretended to come from Brazil’s social security system, which Kaspersky analyzed and found to be malicious.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 10 Mar. 2026
Federal agents pretended to be NYPD plainclothes officers looking for a missing child to kidnap a Columbia University student in university housing.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 4 Mar. 2026
Then, an experimenter presented the bonobo with two empty, transparent cups and pretended to pour juice from an empty pitcher into each cup.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretended
Adjective
-
The idea of producing multiple mock drafts is to cover multiple possibilities, and with the ninth overall selection in the NFL Draft, there are several for the Chiefs.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
8 Apr. 2026
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To see how the board has changed over time, check out Chris Perkins’ initial mock draft, David Furones’ post-combine mock and Perkins’ post-Waddle trade mock.—
David Furones,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Security company Trend Micro has documented that actors who’ve worked on past operations benefiting the North Korean government have used these addresses, particularly in scams involving fake recruiters.—
Jessica Klein,
PC Magazine,
11 Apr. 2026
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Faces of Death isn’t a remake of the infamous 1978 exploitation landmark, a faux documentary that positioned itself as an anthology of actual carnage (though much of its disturbing footage was fake).—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
This posed a problem because the gas had nowhere to go.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
11 Apr. 2026
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The two posed with their family's newest addition in a picture shared to Jackson's Instagram.—
Hannah Sacks,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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As a reluctant child of the Ain’t it Cool News era, the Drafthouse had long assumed some kind of legendary status in my mind.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2026
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Investors have assumed that geopolitical tensions will eventually fade and markets will rebound.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The rickshaws have become increasingly popular in Sierra Leone, filling the gaps in a strained public transport system as the West African country struggles to recover from its 1991-2002 civil war.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
The band’s courtesy visit was a pleasant break for Japan’s first female leader, known for her long working hours and now struggling with strained diplomatic ties with China, the fallouts from the war in the Middle East as well as rising prices at home.—
Mari Yamaguchi,
Fortune,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Cancer rates are 30% higher in women aged 20-29 (55 versus 42 per 100,000) compared to males and nearly double in those aged 30-39 (161 versus 84 per 100,000), the American Cancer Society states.—
Tesfaye Negussie,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
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The Padres responded in the bottom of the first inning with a double, a walk and a drive by Nick Castellanos to left field that was caught above the eight-foot wall by Jordan Beck.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Epstein acted as Ariane de Rothschild’s confidant and guide throughout this tumultuous time, the records show.—
Shirsho Dasgupta,
Miami Herald,
7 Apr. 2026
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On Tuesday, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office issued its report on the shooting, which determined that Allsup had acted lawfully during the incident and opened fire after Mohammed made a sudden movement toward the victim's throat after not complying with Allsup's commands.—
Carlos E. Castañeda,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Boone said Carlos Rodón, set back by some hamstring tightness, simulated two innings in a bullpen session on Wednesday.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The team members simulated different atomic arrays to get a sense of how fast each size could crack the two main encryption schemes, called Rivest–Shamir–Adleman (RSA) and elliptic curve cryptography (ECC).—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pretended.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretended. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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