pretended 1 of 2

adjective

pri-ˈten-dəd How to pronounce pretended (audio)
Definition of pretendednext
1
as in mock
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality he shows a pretended affection for his girlfriend's cat

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fake
not being or expressing what one appears to be or express hoped that his pretended interest in classical music would impress the boss

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

pretended

2 of 2

verb

past tense of pretend
1
as in posed
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
2
as in assumed
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pretended
Verb
One, a 35-year-old man, pretended to be a San Francisco 49ers player or a wealthy real estate investor, the Department of Justice said. — Idaho Statesman, 28 Aug. 2026 Once upon a time, Republicans understood this, or at least pretended to. — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2026 The individual pretended to be from the Federal Trade Commission and told the victims to take funds out of their account and put it into a cryptocurrency kiosk, staying on the phone with them to avoid detection by bank tellers, officials said. — Dan Raby, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026 Built Through Adversity, Not Overnight Scaling from one property to more than 1,000 units is not a clean process, and Jake and Austin have never pretended otherwise. — Nia Bowers, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2026 As bait, the researchers created a fake startup, Ballena Azul, which pretended to focus on decentralized finance for large holders of cryptocurrency, which North Koreans have been known to target to fund the country’s regime. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 11 Aug. 2026 The woman got up on their table and gleefully pretended to tap dance, drawing an amused crowd of onlookers. — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 6 Aug. 2026 Unafraid of sinking as low as possible at the welfare office, Dennis pretended to be recovering from a crack problem while Dee feigned intellectual disability, but the caseworker wasn’t buying it. — Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 28 July 2026 At first, Universal set up that experience with a clever narrative shift that pretended to put guests into a Universal movie after spending the tour learning how they were made. — Robert Niles, Oc Register, 21 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretended
  1. mock
  2. fake
  3. posed
  4. assumed
  5. strained
  6. double
  7. acted
  8. simulated
Adjective
  • The outfit consisted of a sleeveless, mock-neck blouse in mocha-brown, tucked into a tawny suede skirt that hit just above her ankles.
    — Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Mirroring the look of King’s footwear, Osaka sported a metallic silver pleated top with a mock neckline and no sleeves.
    — Amina Ayoud, Footwear News, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of mock
Adjective
  • Jump scares, dudes with chainsaws, fake blood and adult drinks accentuated with gummy worms.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Days later, Britain’s AI Security Institute said that Anthropic’s most advanced AI model had used fake identities to cover its tracks and attempt to plant malicious code during testing.
    — Anna Cooban, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of fake
Verb
  • As a rising star in the party, a vice chair at the National Republican Senatorial Committee who’s known for her strong Democratic relationships, Britt is trying to help her party navigate the political challenge posed by data center growth.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2026
  • On Tuesday, Kai posed for her official UM Hurricanes golf team photo on media day, and shared the official snap of her looking happy and focused on Instagram.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of posed
Verb
  • The machinery switches on earlier than long assumed, as brain scans of infants reveal.
    — Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2026
  • For the latter, establish what is known, what is assumed, what still needs to be understood and what requires testing.
    — Mustafa Shreet, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of assumed
Adjective
  • The second of four children, Cusk had a strained relationship with her parents.
    — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Sep. 2026
  • His injuries also included a strained AC joint in his shoulder and abrasions on his face, the affidavit states.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of strained
Adjective
  • The black walnut double staircase in the center hall foyer has carved lions.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The formula includes lactic acid, a chemical exfoliator that breaks down dead skin, for a double dose of skin-smoothing power.
    — Alanna Martine Kilkeary, Glamour, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of double
Verb
  • Also in 2019 Depp acted alongside Timothée Chalamet in The King, playing the French princess Catherine of Valois opposite Chalamet’s Henry V.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Those establishments have been notified; police believe Ceesay acted alone and there is no immediate threat to the LGBTQ+ community.
    — Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of acted
Verb
  • Astronomers simulated four Milky Way-sized galaxies without any dark matter clumps, then peppered them with roughly 15,000 stellar streams.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Some were animations, but more than half since March used AI that simulated real people.
    — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of simulated

Browse Nearby Words

pretend
pretended
pretender
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pretended.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretended. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All