as in hypocritical
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1
as in posing
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 simulating
to present a false appearance of
as if I would ever pretend illness just to take off a day from work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pretending
Harry De Cosemo,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
Tazheen Nizam,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 June 2026
This is not good news for everyone, and pretending otherwise is its own kind of fake value.
—
Margareta Petrovic,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2026
In 2013, a man was carjacked and robbed at gunpoint in Detroit after receiving text messages from someone pretending to be his ex-girlfriend and asking to meet.
—
Christina Zhang,
CBS News,
25 June 2026
There’s a chapter in the book about how many of the demos for AI have just turned out to be people in India pretending to be robots.
—
ArsTechnica,
23 June 2026
Babcock isn’t pretending otherwise.
—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
23 June 2026
Some people cope with a situation like that by pretending everything is fine, ready to move forward with booking the swank venue for the big bash.
—
Greg Jackson,
Time,
23 June 2026
This has included perpetrators pretending to administer a survey in their car, posing as a social worker giving away free baby items at their home, accompanying victims to a doctor’s appointment at a nonexistent clinic, and luring them to fake baby showers.
—
Elizabeth Yuko,
Rolling Stone,
18 June 2026
The question is why so many other people are pretending not to.
—
Dan Zaksheske Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
17 June 2026
Adjective
There can be no more pretending, briefing or hiding.
—
Harry De Cosemo,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
Our fear resurfaced days ago on the one-month anniversary, when another alert was issued after a man circled the Islamic Center pretending to possess an explosive device while displaying a Nazi flag.
—
Tazheen Nizam,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 June 2026
This is not good news for everyone, and pretending otherwise is its own kind of fake value.
—
Margareta Petrovic,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2026
In 2013, a man was carjacked and robbed at gunpoint in Detroit after receiving text messages from someone pretending to be his ex-girlfriend and asking to meet.
—
Christina Zhang,
CBS News,
25 June 2026
There’s a chapter in the book about how many of the demos for AI have just turned out to be people in India pretending to be robots.
—
ArsTechnica,
23 June 2026
Babcock isn’t pretending otherwise.
—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
23 June 2026
Some people cope with a situation like that by pretending everything is fine, ready to move forward with booking the swank venue for the big bash.
—
Greg Jackson,
Time,
23 June 2026
This has included perpetrators pretending to administer a survey in their car, posing as a social worker giving away free baby items at their home, accompanying victims to a doctor’s appointment at a nonexistent clinic, and luring them to fake baby showers.
—
Elizabeth Yuko,
Rolling Stone,
18 June 2026
The question is why so many other people are pretending not to.
—
Dan Zaksheske Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
17 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretending
Adjective
-
Or means that any comments are supposedly hypocritical.
-
Earlier this month, Matsui’s campaign came after Vang for taking corporate donations from Sacramento-area businesses during her city council campaigns, implying that Vang’s vows to not accept money from corporate PACs in her congressional bid is hypocritical.
Verb
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Witherspoon wrote alongside a photo of her posing with Deacon in his cap and gown.
-
Other snaps saw the Selena actress lounging in silk pajamas, celebrating her kids' graduations, eating a huge croissant, nibbling on a chocolate bar in bed, and posing for a selfie on a couch.
Verb
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This has become increasingly difficult, with professional players routinely simulating injuries and an offside rule that is interpreted to within fractions of an inch.
-
My research focused on simulating how special light waves interact in liquid crystals and using simple equations to approximate and understand those interactions.
Adjective
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Infiltrate a swanky New York law firm that may be duplicitous in the opioid crisis, an epidemic that also happens to have taken the life of her daughter.
-
The takeaway, then, isn’t that students are duplicitous and depraved or that technology has eroded their moral core.
Verb
-
Ella Bruccoleri may be playing a Bennet sister on TV, but the actress wasn’t always a fan of Jane Austen.
-
According to court documents, Zimmerman was playing golf at the hotel's course throughout the day with friends.
Verb
-
People also tend to confuse fragrance intensity with cleanliness, assuming a strong smell means a deeper clean.
-
Investors will take riskier positions, assuming the central bank will save them from their own mistakes.
Adjective
-
Not everyone believes, however, that the line is insincere.
-
And so, open door policies rarely fail because leaders are insincere.
Verb
-
National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, the brother of acting President Delcy Rodríguez, said on Sunday that more than 12,000 people have been displaced by the earthquakes and 774 buildings have been damaged or destroyed, including hospitals.
-
Our failure so far to force major Iranian concessions is the strongest possible indictment of the president’s decision to appoint Bill Pulte as the acting director of national intelligence, a man whose career includes no experience in any national security field.
Cite this Entry
“Pretending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretending. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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