Synonyms of pretends

pretends

verb

present tense third-person singular of pretend

1

as in poses

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

• poses
• plays
• assumes
• acts
• dissembles
• simulates
• makes a show
• professes
• lets on
• masquerades
• dissimulates
• conceals
• makes believe
• fakes
• makes a pretense
• feigns
• impersonates
• makes out
• puts on an act
• disguises
• puts up a front
• affects
• masks
• camouflages
• shams
• counterfeits
• puts on
• playacts
• bluffs
• feints

2

as in assumes

to present a false appearance of

as if I would ever pretend illness just to take off a day from work

Synonyms & Similar Words

• assumes
• simulates
• professes
• feigns
• affects
• acts
• dissembles
• passes (for)
• conceals
• poses
• makes believe
• fakes
• shams
• imitates
• plays
• puts on
• counterfeits
• forges
• bluffs
• masquerades
• impersonates
• camouflages
• disguises
• masks
• lets on
• dissimulates
• playacts
• feints
• malingers

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pretends

And Brand New Day pretends to tell that story, for about 20 minutes. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026

Ariane lies to him and pretends to be an experienced dame and never reveals her real name. — Air Mail, 18 July 2026

But also, because The Odyssey itself is a kind of Trojan horse, a vessel that pretends to give us an entertaining story from the past while, in fact, exposing uncomfortable truths about the present. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 17 July 2026

The show only pretends to be organized around romantic couples. — Lillian Fishman, New Yorker, 27 June 2026

The person on the phone pretends to be IT support and tries to convince the employee to install remote desktop software. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2026

Scary Movie 6 spoofed the horror flick by turning the terrifying Christmas mall massacre scene into a laugh out loud moment with Cindy being present when Art the Clown pretends to be a mall Santa. — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026

Pig-butchering scams, in which a stranger pretends to befriend you and then coaxes you into putting money into a cryptocurrency scam, don’t involve that same act now urgency. — Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 1 June 2026

Elsa argues with her mother, Isabel doesn’t like to be questioned and pretends everything’s all right, while Amalia hangs with dodgy characters and makes claims that seem real only to her. — Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 25 May 2026