pretend

pre·tend  (pr-tnd)

v. pre·tend·ed, pre·tend·ing, pre·tends

v.tr.

1. To give a false appearance of; feign: "You had to pretend conformity while privately pursuing high and dangerous nonconformism" Anthony Burgess.

2. To claim or allege insincerely or falsely; profess: doesn't pretend to be an expert.

3. To represent fictitiously in play; make believe: pretended they were on a cruise.

4. To take upon oneself; venture: I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong.

v.intr.

1. To feign an action or character, as in play.

2. To put forward a claim.

3. To make pretensions: pretends to gourmet tastes.

adj. Informal

Imitation; make-believe: pretend money; pretend pearls.

---

[Middle English pretenden, from Old French pretendre, from Latin praetendere : prae-, pre- + tendere, to extend; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]

---

pretend

Verb

1. to claim or give the appearance of (something untrue): he pretended to be asleep

2. to make believe: one of the actresses pretended to urinate into a bucket

3. (foll. by to)to present a claim, esp. a doubtful one: to pretend to the throne [Latin praetendere to stretch forth, feign]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	pretend - the enactment of a pretense; "it was just pretend" make-believe pretending, pretense, feigning, simulation, pretence - the act of giving a false appearance; "his conformity was only pretending"
Verb	1.	pretend - make believe with the intent to deceive; "He feigned that he was ill"; "He shammed a headache" dissemble, feign, sham, affect misrepresent, belie - represent falsely; "This statement misrepresents my intentions" make believe, pretend, make - represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like; "She makes like an actress" play possum - to pretend to be dead take a dive - pretend to be knocked out, as of a boxer bullshit, talk through one's hat, bull, fake - speak insincerely or without regard for facts or truths; "The politician was not well prepared for the debate and faked it" mouth - articulate silently; form words with the lips only; "She mouthed a swear word"
	2.	pretend - behave unnaturally or affectedly; "She's just acting" dissemble, act behave, act, do - behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people" sham, feign, simulate, assume - make a pretence of; "She assumed indifference, even though she was seething with anger"; "he feigned sleep"
	3.	pretend - put forward a claim and assert right or possession of; "pretend the title of King" arrogate, lay claim, claim - demand as being one's due or property; assert one's right or title to; "He claimed his suitcases at the airline counter"; "Mr. Smith claims special tax exemptions because he is a foreign resident"
	4.	pretend - put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation; "I am guessing that the price of real estate will rise again"; "I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong" hazard, venture, guess forebode, predict, prognosticate, foretell, promise, anticipate, call - make a prediction about; tell in advance; "Call the outcome of an election" suspect, surmise - imagine to be the case or true or probable; "I suspect he is a fugitive"; "I surmised that the butler did it" speculate - talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way and with an element of doubt or without sufficient reason to reach a conclusion; "We were speculating whether the President had to resign after the scandal"
	5.	pretend - represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like; "She makes like an actress" make believe, make dissemble, feign, pretend, sham, affect - make believe with the intent to deceive; "He feigned that he was ill"; "He shammed a headache" go through the motions - pretend to do something by acting as if one was really doing it; "She isn't really working--she's just going through the motions" act, play, represent - play a role or part; "Gielgud played Hamlet"; "She wants to act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role"; "She played the servant to her husband's master"
	6.	pretend - state insincerely; "He professed innocence but later admitted his guilt"; "She pretended not to have known the suicide bomber"; "She pretends to be an expert on wine" profess claim - assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing; "He claimed that he killed the burglar"
Adj.	1.	pretend - imagined as in a play; "the make-believe world of theater"; "play money"; "dangling their legs in the water to catch pretend fish" make-believe unreal - lacking in reality or substance or genuineness; not corresponding to acknowledged facts or criteria; "ghosts and other unreal entities"; "unreal propaganda serving as news"

---

pretend

verb 1. feign, affect, assume, allege, put on, fake, make out, simulate, profess, sham, counterfeit, falsify, impersonate, dissemble, dissimulate, pass yourself off as

verb 2. make believe, suppose, imagine, play, act, make up, play the part of

verb 3. lay claim, claim, allege, aspire, profess, purport

Translations

pretend [prɪˈtɛnd] vt (= feign) → fingir

vi (= feign) → fingir (= claim): to pretend to sth → pretender a algo

---

pretend [prɪˈtɛnd] vt (= feign) → feindre, simuler

vi (= feign) → faire semblant (= claim);

to pretend to sth → prétendre à qch;

to pretend to do → faire semblant de faire

---

pretend [prɪˈtɛnd] pretence vt (= feign) → vorgeben

vi (= feign) → sich verstellen, so tun, als ob;

I don't pretend to understand it pretence (= claim); ich erhebe nicht den Anspruch, es zu verstehen

---

pretend [prɪˈtɛnd] vt (= feign) → fingere

vi → far finta (= claim): to pretend to sth → pretendere a qc;

to pretend to do → far finta di fare