1
as in mock
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality
he shows a pretended affection for his girlfriend's cat
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
New York Daily News, 9 May 2026
At least one fan even pretended to kiss the trophy through the glass.
—Peter Warren, Houston Chronicle, 4 May 2026
Dressed in a tux and standing behind a podium Thursday, Kimmel pretended to deliver a comic routine for the WHCA dinner.
—David Bauder, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026
Davis wore disguises on multiple video calls with potential investors in 2024 and pretended to be three different NFL players.
—Ryan Gaydos Outkick, FOXNews.com, 28 Apr. 2026
That intrusion began with phishing calls to the company’s technology help desk by hackers who pretended to be employees requesting a reset of their authentication credentials.
—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026
The power struggle swirls around the saintly, ineffectual King Henry until gradually the dynamic York, who has pretended to support Margaret while secretly hatching his own plot, emerges as the chief contender for the throne.
—Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Apr. 2026
Albini phoned the Lemonheads’ Evan Dando and pretended to be Madonna’s assistant, and placed him on hold for 45 minutes.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2026
One cheeky Instagram Reel sees the two sitting across from each other at a table as Bradford pretended to lecture Brunette.
—Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 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
Darryl pretended to be a novice and challenged Tyler to a match, even promising him a new pair of cleats if Tyler won.
—New York Daily News, 9 May 2026
At least one fan even pretended to kiss the trophy through the glass.
—Peter Warren, Houston Chronicle, 4 May 2026
Dressed in a tux and standing behind a podium Thursday, Kimmel pretended to deliver a comic routine for the WHCA dinner.
—David Bauder, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026
Davis wore disguises on multiple video calls with potential investors in 2024 and pretended to be three different NFL players.
—Ryan Gaydos Outkick, FOXNews.com, 28 Apr. 2026
That intrusion began with phishing calls to the company’s technology help desk by hackers who pretended to be employees requesting a reset of their authentication credentials.
—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026
The power struggle swirls around the saintly, ineffectual King Henry until gradually the dynamic York, who has pretended to support Margaret while secretly hatching his own plot, emerges as the chief contender for the throne.
—Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Apr. 2026
Albini phoned the Lemonheads’ Evan Dando and pretended to be Madonna’s assistant, and placed him on hold for 45 minutes.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2026
One cheeky Instagram Reel sees the two sitting across from each other at a table as Bradford pretended to lecture Brunette.
—Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretended
Adjective
-
The sprawling 85-acre facility used to train Atlanta’s police and firefighters includes a mock gas station, a train track with several rail cars, a firehouse, a horse stable, a seven-story burn tower and a 28-lane indoor shooting range.—
Shaddi Abusaid,
AJC.com,
12 May 2026
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Adding the appropriate gothic touch to this Debra Hill production are John Lloyd’s dripping-with-mock-Victorian-splendor sets and John Morris’ delightfully tongue-in-cheek score.—
Kirk Ellis,
HollywoodReporter,
12 May 2026
Adjective
-
The bot-detection firm Cyabra analyzed seven days of activity around the ad and determined that 15 percent of the TikTok accounts commenting on it were fake but had created a disproportionately large percentage of the uproar.—
Lane Brown,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
-
To return the favor, Graham proposes a fake dating scheme with Wells to make her crush, singer Justin Kohl (Josh Heuston), jealous.—
Nasha Smith,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Several Cardinals posed for photos with them and some even gave away bats and baseballs.—
Warren Mayes,
Chicago Tribune,
17 May 2026
-
The actor and director posed at Palais des Festivals during the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival in a black-and-white pair of Nike sneakers that read as a saddle shoe, a low-profile lace-up style that sits somewhere between an oxford and an early sneaker.—
Maggie Clancy,
Footwear News,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
Israel said that al-Haddad had assumed the role of Hamas commander after his predecessor, Mohammed Sinwar, was killed.—
Samy Magdy,
Chicago Tribune,
16 May 2026
-
Even Anthropic has assumed a lot about its freedom and authority, having just announced a new tool called Mythos, an AI model that finds security vulnerabilities in software and networked resources.—
Olivier Sylvain,
Fortune,
16 May 2026
Adjective
-
At the same time, reductions in federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits are expected to increase food insecurity among older adults, placing even more pressure on already strained systems.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
-
The Thunder are 8-0 in the postseason despite their second-best player Jalen Williams missing the entirety of the playoffs with a strained hamstring.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
With two outs already recorded in the inning, Rodón surrendered a double to Carson Benge before issuing walks to Bo Bichette and Juan Soto.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
17 May 2026
-
Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson took a double minor for high-sticking, and Jason Zucker scored on the power play to get the Sabres back within one going into the first intermission.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
Verb
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According to Stern, there is also guardianship paperwork, which has been signed by the children’s mother, that delegates parental authority to Omar, who Stern says has acted as a liaison for the children on school and medical matters because their mother does not speak English, per Rochester First.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
PEOPLE,
12 May 2026
-
Angus Scott also said ChatGPT acted as a medical doctor in its exchanges with his stepson, even though it was not licensed to offer medical advice.—
Megan Cerullo,
CBS News,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
The first exercise simulated a scenario involving a potential nuclear detonation in orbit.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
13 May 2026
-
Inspired by high-contrast black-and-white street photography, Mono converts images into dramatic black-and-white compositions using a custom monochrome LUT and simulated optical imperfections.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pretended.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretended. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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