1
as in to pose
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
Relevance
2
as in to assume
to present a false appearance of
as if I would ever pretend illness just to take off a day from work
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in faux
being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials
if you were to see the movie's pretend jewels in real life, you wouldn't be fooled for a minute
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in imaginary
not real and existing only in the imagination
it's just a pretend gun, so please pretend that I got you and play dead
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of pretend
Samantha Subin,chris Eudaily, CNBC, 9 July 2025
Naturally, even the uninitiated noticed the singing, even if a few pretended not to.
—Brian Schaefer
july 7, Literary Hub, 7 July 2025
Thomas Gibbons-Neff, New York Times, 28 May 2025
Indeed, so realistic was this pretend moon that Cowan and fellow imaging experts had to wear protective clothing to prevent the simulated lunar dust from being breathed in, or getting in their hair or on their clothes.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pretend
Verb
Gabriel Cardenas | Afp | Getty Images Grok is pretending yesterday didn’t happen.
—Samantha Subin,chris Eudaily, CNBC, 9 July 2025
Naturally, even the uninitiated noticed the singing, even if a few pretended not to.
—Brian Schaefer
july 7, Literary Hub, 7 July 2025
Adjective
Here were hundreds of people fighting in a pretend war, a hobby known as airsoft, with very real-looking guns that shoot plastic pellets.
—Thomas Gibbons-Neff, New York Times, 28 May 2025
Indeed, so realistic was this pretend moon that Cowan and fellow imaging experts had to wear protective clothing to prevent the simulated lunar dust from being breathed in, or getting in their hair or on their clothes.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pretend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretend
Verb
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The cast posed with their new award, joined by the show's producer — and Tori's father — Aaron Spelling.—
Alexandra Schonfeld,
People.com,
13 July 2025
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Alcaraz was out on Court 14 before the match kicking balls, signing autographs and posing for selfies with fans.—
Adam Zagoria,
Forbes.com,
13 July 2025
Verb
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President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act – assuming the version Senate Republicans passed on Tuesday becomes law–would cut the legs out from under the renewable energy industry.—
Christopher Helman,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
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Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has assumed oversight of Tesla Inc.’s sales in Europe and the U.S. following the departure of longtime deputy Omead Afshar, people familiar with the matter said.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
1 July 2025
Adjective
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Save on a new faux leather crossbody from Vera Bradley for an impressive 76 percent off, a pair of cork footbed sandals that resemble popular styles worn by Sandra Bullock and Reese Witherspoon.—
Ali Faccenda,
People.com,
9 July 2025
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Without it, as inequality worsens, the next populist may not be a faux champion of the people, but a genuine anti-capitalist insurgent.—
Dan Perry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 July 2025
Adjective
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The Royal Observatory Greenwich is home to Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian, an imaginary line of longitude, designated as 0 degrees that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
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The soundtrack shifts toward lighter indie rock and away from brain-numbing redundancies, while the story treats those imaginary genre sketches like an accidental off-ramp left in the rearview.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
10 July 2025
Verb
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No word on the role Koch is playing, and official plot details for the film are being kept under wraps, although it’s described as a comedic drama set in the world of artificial intelligence.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
14 July 2025
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Bullock, 60, and Kidman, 58, who played sisters Sally Owens and Gillian Owens in the original movie, are both returning.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
14 July 2025
Verb
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The whole structure could even be rotated to simulate the motion of the stars.—
Martin Bush,
Space.com,
5 July 2025
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Sprinklers simulate rain, except that sprinkler heads often throw the water horizontally.—
Steve Bender,
Southern Living,
5 July 2025
Adjective
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There’s a massive global scam operation that uses real payment methods on fake checkout pages.—
Kim Komando The Kim Komando Show,
FOXNews.com,
12 July 2025
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Additional increases in the quantity and quality of weapons sent to Ukraine would underpin that message and would have a better chance than anything else of persuading Putin to replace fake negotiations with the real thing.—
The Editors,
National Review,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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Senegal just ditched its plans for the singer’s multibillion-dollar smart city in the country, reminiscent of Marvel’s fictitious nation in its Black Panther franchise.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
10 July 2025
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Further blurring fact from fiction is this latest approach of trying to capitalize on a TikTok viral moment by having a fictitious creator recite the words of a real creator.—
Shannon Bond,
NPR,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pretend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretend. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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