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
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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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pretends
Security researchers have uncovered a malicious Chrome and Edge extension called NexShield that pretends to be a fast, privacy-friendly ad blocker.
—
Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 16 Feb. 2026
The story about a woman, who is considered a cursed bride, and her husband, who pretends to be possessed in an attempt to control her, is the first all-Pakistani feature at the Berlin International Film Festival, which has in the past featured Pakistani co-productions.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026
No one pretends to extract any truth or significance.
—Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Receiving gifts is the one love language everyone pretends not to have.
—Jennifer Noyes, Air Mail, 31 Jan. 2026
The human therapist pretends to be a client.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
By March, the city pretends the interruption never happened.
—Alexandra Martinez, Artforum, 15 Jan. 2026
But nobody pretends that number is reliable.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 31 Oct. 2025
Each night on her ongoing Short n’ Sweet tour Carpenter pretends to arrest a member of the crowd.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 16 Feb. 2026
The story about a woman, who is considered a cursed bride, and her husband, who pretends to be possessed in an attempt to control her, is the first all-Pakistani feature at the Berlin International Film Festival, which has in the past featured Pakistani co-productions.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026
No one pretends to extract any truth or significance.
—Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Receiving gifts is the one love language everyone pretends not to have.
—Jennifer Noyes, Air Mail, 31 Jan. 2026
The human therapist pretends to be a client.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
By March, the city pretends the interruption never happened.
—Alexandra Martinez, Artforum, 15 Jan. 2026
But nobody pretends that number is reliable.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 31 Oct. 2025
Each night on her ongoing Short n’ Sweet tour Carpenter pretends to arrest a member of the crowd.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretends
Verb
-
The most extreme category — hazards — indicates emergency conditions, while the least extreme — good — indicates that air pollution poses little or no risk to the public.—
Katey Psencik,
Austin American Statesman,
19 Feb. 2026
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Isaiah Zagar poses for a photo at 4th and Bainbridge streets in the 1970s.—
Joe Brandt,
CBS News,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Too much of California’s policy assumes technological breakthroughs will simply appear on schedule, at an affordable cost, to meet the looming lofty goals.—
Suzette Valladares,
Oc Register,
15 Feb. 2026
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But this assumes the PLA’s claim is, of course, true.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Because all 12 vertebrae of your thoracic spine (middle segment) connect to your rib cage, rib mobility plays a central role in how your spine moves and how forces are managed through your back.—
Dana Santas,
CNN Money,
15 Feb. 2026
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Besides being crucial for winter sports events, snow plays many other important roles, said David Robinson, New Jersey State Climatologist and a distinguished professor in the Rutgers University geography department.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The software simulates wind passing over the avatar, computational fluid dynamics calculate how much resistance there is — and how tweaking a skater’s form alters that.—
Howard Fendrich,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2026
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Most prominently, engineers detected leaking hydrogen during the test, known as a wet dress rehearsal that simulates a launch day countdown.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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William Stevenson founded the Stone Balloon, a popular music venue in Newark, Delaware, in the early 1970s, which hosted rock acts from Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band to George Thorogood to Cheap Trick.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
17 Feb. 2026
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At the moment, Exelon, as the parent company to a group of six regulated transmission utilities, is barred from doing so, and instead acts as a middleman for power that is generated by a host of competing power plant operators.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In this context, improving pay and addressing disparities will be a formidable undertaking for a mayoral administration that professes a commitment to economic justice.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
5 Feb. 2026
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Maurice grows steadily more intimate with a friend, Clive, trading books and letters with him over vacation, until Clive professes his love.—
Bekah Waalkes,
The Atlantic,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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With his multi-instrumentalist bandmates, PJ Moore and co-songwriter Robert Bell, Buchanan zooms into these exchanges to prolong them or dissembles them into jagged pieces that leave the bigger picture to us.—
Sam Sodomsky,
Pitchfork,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Someone who’s really living the Andrew Tate-like lifestyle Jacob only feigns is his bestie Cameron (Dylan Playfair).—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
7 Aug. 2025
-
The second man with a flail steps forward and feigns a move.—
Miguel Torres,
AZCentral.com,
16 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pretends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretends. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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