as in frauds
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
it turns out that the guy who claimed to work for a modeling agency was just a pretender
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pretenders
The contenders, pretenders and everybody in between.
—
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
Adjustments will be made, and by November and December, there will be a much clearer picture of who the contenders and pretenders are.
—Mark Lasota, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Crazy as this sport is, all four teams might be pretenders.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
But the Bolts don't have enough pieces to go from pretenders to contenders.
—Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Aug. 2025
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
Adjustments will be made, and by November and December, there will be a much clearer picture of who the contenders and pretenders are.
—Mark Lasota, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Crazy as this sport is, all four teams might be pretenders.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
But the Bolts don't have enough pieces to go from pretenders to contenders.
—Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretenders
Noun
-
In the knee-jerk world of modern football, yesterday’s world-beaters are tomorrow’s frauds.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
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This fan-favorite promotion returns after nearly 10 years away, having been shelved following the exposure of one of the biggest frauds in corporate marketing history.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The offensive passing game benefited with play-action fakes.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
14 Oct. 2025
-
In the decades that followed, Freeman, who died in 2025, assembled a vast array of literary fakes, collecting books whose content is deceiving in nature.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The complete set comes with a cozy bedspread and two matching pillow shams to match.—
Mariana Best,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Oct. 2025
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This sheet set also comes with shams, all made from cotton percale for a cool, crisp sleep year-round.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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By the finale, the galactic chessboard is crowded with players—emperors, rebels, prophets, impostors—but as Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) warned in the very first episode, the center cannot hold.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
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That’s until their cover in California Schemin’ as rapping imposters was blown and the emotional strain of denying their Scottishness and their fractured friendship revealed itself.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pretenders.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretenders. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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