pretend

pretend

make believe; deceive; feign: pretend surprise; simulate, fake, sham, counterfeit; assume: pretend a title

Not to be confused with:

portend – foreshadow as an omen; signify; foretell; forecast; forebode: The skies portend a possible hurricane.

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

pre·tend

 (prĭ-tĕnd′)

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: 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 lay claim: 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.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pretend

(prɪˈtɛnd)

vb

1. (when tr, usually takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to claim or allege (something untrue)

2. (tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to make believe, as in a play: you pretend to be Ophelia.

3. (foll by: to) to present a claim, esp a dubious one: to pretend to the throne.

4. obsolete (foll by: to) to aspire as a candidate or suitor (for)

adj

fanciful; make-believe; simulated: a pretend gun.

[C14: from Latin praetendere to stretch forth, feign, from prae in front + tendere to stretch]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pre•tend

(prɪˈtɛnd)

v.

1. to cause or attempt to cause (what is not so) to seem so; claim: pretending that nothing is wrong.

2. to put forward a false appearance of, as to deceive; feign: to pretend illness.

3. to make believe: The children pretended they were cowboys.

4. to presume; venture: I can't pretend to say what went wrong.

5. to allege or profess, esp. insincerely or falsely: He pretended to have no knowledge of her whereabouts.

v.i.

6. to make believe.

7. to lay claim to (usu. fol. by to): to pretend to the throne.

8. to make pretensions (usu. fol. by to): to pretend to great knowledge.

9. Obs. to aspire, as a suitor or candidate (fol. by to).

adj.

10. make-believe; imaginary: pretend diamonds.

[1325–75; < Latin praetendere to stretch forth, put forward, pretend. See pre-, tend¹]

syn: pretend, affect, assume, feign imply an attempt to create a false appearance. To pretend is to create an imaginary characteristic or to play a part: to pretend sorrow. To affect is to make a consciously artificial show of having qualities that one thinks would look well and impress others: to affect shyness. To assume is to take on or put on a specific outward appearance, often with intent to deceive: to assume an air of indifference. To feign implies using ingenuity in pretense, and some degree of imitation of appearance or characteristics: to feign surprise.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

pretend

Past participle: pretended
Gerund: pretending

Imperative

pretend

pretend

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

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 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"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

pretend

verb

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

2. make believe, suppose, imagine, play, act, make up, play the part of She can sunbathe and pretend she's in Spain. The children pretended to be animals.

3. lay claim, claim, allege, aspire, profess, purport I cannot pretend to understand the problem.

adjective

1. imaginary, imagined, made-up, fantasy, invented, pretended, make-believe Many children have a pretend playmate.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

pretend

verb

1. To take on or give a false appearance of:

affect, assume, counterfeit, fake, feign, put on, sham, simulate.

Idiom: make believe.

2. To behave affectedly or insincerely or take on a false or misleading appearance of:

act, counterfeit, dissemble, fake, feign, play-act, pose, put on, sham, simulate.

3. To claim or allege insincerely or falsely:

feign, profess.

4. To contrive and present as genuine:

counterfeit, fake, feign, simulate.

Idioms: make believe, put on an act.

5. To have the courage to put forward, as an idea, especially when rebuff or criticism is likely:

dare, hazard, presume, venture.

adjective

Informal. Made to imitate something else:

artificial, imitation, manmade, mock, simulated, synthetic.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

يَتَظَاهَريَتَظاهَريَدَّعي أنَّه

předstíratdělat jako by

foregivelade som om

vorgebenvortäuschenheuchelnprätendierenso tun als ob

διατείνομαιπροσποιούμαι

fingirsimularhacersepretenderaparentar

teeskennellä

prétendrefaire semblantfeindreprétexterfaire mine de

pretvarati se

megjátssza, hogy

òykjast

fingerepretenderepretesafinzionepresuntuoso

ふりをする

...인 체하다

izliktiesiztēloties

doen alsof

gi seg ut forlate som

stworzyć pozory

fingir

представитьсяпретендоватьпритворяться

robiť sa, že

pretvarjati se

låtsas

แกล้ง

gibi görünmek-mış gibi görünmeknumara yapmakyapar gibi görünmek

giả vờ

假装使信以为真

pretend

[prɪˈtend]

A. VT

1. (= feign) → fingir, simular
to pretend that → (querer) hacer creer que ...
he's pretending that he can't hear → finge no oír
let's pretend that I'm the doctor and you're the nurse (child language) → yo era el médico y tú eras la enfermera
to pretend to do sth → fingir hacer algo
to pretend to be asleep → hacerse el dormido, fingir estar dormido
to pretend to be mad → fingirse loco
he pretends to be a poet → se las da de poeta, se dice poeta
to pretend to go away → fingir marcharse
to pretend not to be listening → hacerse el distraído
to pretend not to understand → hacerse el desentendido

2. (= claim) → pretender
I don't pretend to know the answer → no pretendo saber la respuesta
I don't pretend to understand art → no pretendo entender de arte

B. VI

1. (= feign) → fingir
she is only pretending → es de mentira
we're only pretending (to child) → es de mentirijillas
let's pretend → imaginémoslo
let's not pretend to each other → no nos engañemos uno a otro

2. (= claim) to pretend to the throne → pretender el trono
to pretend to intelligence → afirmar tener inteligencia, pretender ser inteligente

C. ADJ → de mentira, fingido
pretend money → dinero m de juego

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

pretend

[prɪˈtɛnd]

vt

(= feign) [+ ignorance, interest] → feindre
to pretend (that) → faire comme si
Her father tried to pretend that nothing unusual had happened → Son père essayait de faire comme si rien d'inhabituel ne s'était produit.
She can sunbathe and pretend she's in Spain → Elle peut prendre des bains de soleil et faire comme si elle était en Espagne.
to pretend to do sth → faire semblant de faire qch
He pretended to be asleep → Il faisait semblant de dormir.

(as game) → s'imaginer
They were pretending that their bed was a pirate ship → Ils s'imaginaient que leur lit était un bateau pirate.

(= claim) → prétendre
I don't pretend to understand it → Je ne prétends pas le comprendre.

vi

(= feign) → faire semblant

(as game) → jouer à faire semblant

(= claim) to pretend otherwise → prétendre le contraire
to pretend to sth → prétendre à qch

adj [money] → factice; [earrings] → pour jouer
Pretend cooking is just as much fun as the real thing → Jouer à faire la cuisine est tout aussi amusant que la faire pour de vrai.
pretend play → jeu symbolique

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

pretend

vt

(= make believe) → so tun, als ob; (= feign) → vortäuschen, vorgeben; to pretend to be interested → so tun, als ob man interessiert wäre; to pretend to be sick/to have a cold → eine Krankheit/Erkältung vortäuschen or vorschützen; to pretend to be asleep → sich schlafend stellen

(= claim) I don’t pretend to … → ich behaupte nicht, dass ich …

vi

(= make believe) → so tun, als ob; (= keep up facade) → sich verstellen; he is only pretending → er tut nur so (als ob); let’s stop pretending → hören wir auf, uns (dat) → etwas vorzumachen

(= lay claim) to pretend to something → auf etw (acc) → Anspruch erheben

adj (inf, child language) → Spiel-; pretend money → Spielgeld nt; pretend gun → Spielzeuggewehr nt; it’s just pretend (story etc) → das ist nur Spaß (inf)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

pretend

[prɪˈtɛnd]

1. vt

a. (feign) to pretend illness/ignorance → fingersi malato/a/ignorante, far finta di essere malato/a/ignorante
to pretend to do sth → far finta or fingere di fare qc
she's pretending she can't hear us → fa finta di non sentirci
he was pretending to be a lawyer → si spacciava per avvocato

b. (claim) to pretend to do/that → pretendere di fare/che + sub

2. vi (feign) → far finta, fingere
she is only pretending → sta solo facendo finta

3. adj (fam) (gun, money) → finto/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

pretend

(priˈtend) verb

1. to make believe that something is true, in play. Let's pretend that this room is a cave!; Pretend to be a lion!; He wasn't really angry – he was only pretending. maak of يَدَّعي أنَّه претендирам fazer de conta dělat jako by so tun als ob foregive; lade som om προσποιούμαι, παριστάνωfingir, simular mängima وانمود کردن leikkiä faire semblant לְשָׂחֵק כְּאִילוּ अभिनय करना pretvarati se tettet berpura-pura þykjast fare finta, fingere ～だということにする 가정하다 apsimesti iztēloties; izlikties berpura-pura doen alsoflate som om, leke, innbille segudawać پلمه كول fazer de conta a-şi în­chipui; a pretinde; a se preface делать вид robiť sa, že delati se pretvarati se låtsas เสแสร้ง numara yapmak, ...-mış gibi görünmek 使信以為真，假裝 робити вигляд; симулювати بہانہ کرنا giả vờ; làm ra vẻ 使信以为真，假装

2. to try to make it appear (that something is true), in order to deceive. He pretended that he had a headache; She was only pretending to be asleep; I pretended not to understand. maak of, voorgee يَتَظاهَر преструвам fingir předstírat vorgeben lade som om προσποιούμαι, προφασίζομαιfingir teesklema تظاهر کردن teeskennellä faire semblant לְהַעֲמִיד פָּנִים दावा करना, दिखावा करना pretvarati se megjátssza, hogy ... berpura-pura þykjast fare finta, fingere ～のふりをする 가장하다 apsimesti izlikties berpura-pura voorwendenlate som om, gi seg ut forudawać ښكاره كول fingir a pre­tinde; a se preface притворяться predstierať, domáhať sa pretvarjati se praviti se låtsas แสร้งทำ ... gibi görünmek 假裝 робити вигляд فريب دينا giả vờ 假装

preˈtence , (American) preˈtense (-s) noun

(an) act of pretending. Under the pretence of friendship, he persuaded her to get into his car. voorwendsel تَظاهُر، زَعْم، إدِّعاء претенция fingimento záminka die Vortäuschung foregivelse προσποίηση, πρόσχημα, πρόφασηpretexto ettekääne تظاهر teeskentely prétexte הַעֲמַדָת פָּנִים कपट, दावा, बहाना pod izlikom prijateljstva, tobože iz prijateljstva megjátssza, hogy ... kepura-puraan uppgerð, látalæti simulazione, pretesto 見せかけ 속이기, 가장 apsimetimas iztēlošanās; izlikšanās; maskēšanās sifat suka berpura-pura voorwendselpåskudd pozór ښكارونه fingimentoпритворство, обман zámienka pretveza izgovor förevändning, svepskäl, sken การแสร้งทำ sahte tavır, yapmacık, numara 假裝 удавання; обман بہانہ sự giả vờ 假装

false pretences

acts or behaviour intended to deceive. He got the money under false pretences. voorwendsel تَصَرُّفات خَدّاعَه измама meios fraudulentos falešné důvody unter Vorspiegelung falscher Tatsachen falske forudsætninger ψευδείς ισχυρισμοί fraude, estafa pettus بهانه های دروغین vilpillisesti moyens frauduleux תוֹך הִתחָזוּת धोखा देने वाले कार्य lažni navodi, tobožnji razlozi csalárd fondorlat tindakan mengecoh svik, falskar forsendur raggiri, (dichiarazioni false) 偽りの口実 사기죄 apgaulė viltus; krāpšana tipu daya valse voorwendsels falske forutsetningerpodstęp دروغجنى بهانى meios fraudulentos prin şiretlicuri/înşelăciuni ложный предлог falošná zámienka lažne pretveze lažni izgovor falska förespeglingar การหลอกหลวง yapmacık tavır 詐欺(手段) обман فريب lừa đảo 欺诈（手段）

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

pretend

→ يَتَظَاهَر předstírat foregive vorgeben προσποιούμαι fingir teeskennellä prétendre pretvarati se fingere ふりをする ...인 체하다 doen alsof late som stworzyć pozory fingir притворяться låtsas แกล้ง yapar gibi görünmek giả vờ 假装

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

pretend

v. pretender, fingir, aparentar.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012