as in to pretend
to take on a false or deceptive appearance
she's not half as innocent as she likes to let on
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Recent Examples of let on
But according to renowned astrologer Chani Nicholas, the implications are more complicated than certain media may be letting on.
—
Quispe López, Them., 9 Sep. 2025
Tibbets never let on about the bomb.
—David Perlmutt, Charlotte Observer, 6 Aug. 2025
In 2016, during his first presidential campaign, Trump claimed that the unemployment rate was significantly higher than the BLS let on.
—Matt Egan, CNN Money, 1 Aug. 2025
This episode also serves to shed a more suspicious light on Sophie, who has a history with CPS (Child Protective Services), which implies there's more to her past than she's let on.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 26 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for let on
Quispe López, Them., 9 Sep. 2025
Tibbets never let on about the bomb.
—David Perlmutt, Charlotte Observer, 6 Aug. 2025
In 2016, during his first presidential campaign, Trump claimed that the unemployment rate was significantly higher than the BLS let on.
—Matt Egan, CNN Money, 1 Aug. 2025
This episode also serves to shed a more suspicious light on Sophie, who has a history with CPS (Child Protective Services), which implies there's more to her past than she's let on.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 26 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for let on
Recent Examples of Synonyms for let on
pretend
Verb
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Odysseus, the Ithacan warrior who is as celebrated for craftiness as Achilles is for brute strength, devises a clever ruse in which the Greeks place a giant wooden horse outside Troy’s walls and pretend to sail away.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
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Choose a reason, such as pretending to be someone else.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Let on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/let%20on. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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