pretending 1 of 2

adjective

as in hypocritical

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pretending

2 of 2

verb

present participle of pretend
1
as in posing
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 simulating
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 pretending
Adjective
There can be no more pretending, briefing or hiding. — Harry De Cosemo, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Verb
Lee ingratiates himself by pretending to be interested in becoming a CO himself — attracted to the manliness and the glamor. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026 In a news release, police said that 25-year-old Baldwin Park resident Juan Carlos Amaya contacted the teenage girl via Snapchat and began talking to her while pretending to be 17 years old. — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026 But pretending that their selection of Fudd was based entirely on her basketball skills is foolish. — Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026 There’s an unmistakable impression throughout that this woman… or whatever is pretending to be one… might burn down the house. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026 In his appeal, Juszczyk also argued that fining players for pretending to drink beer was hypocritical given the NFL’s beer sponsorships. — Rick Maese, Washington Post, 7 Oct. 2026 The man pretending to be a teen was then contacted by 34-year-old Juan Leonel Jimenez Silva, according to police. — Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026 October 06, 2026 Optimism isn’t about ignoring problems or pretending everything will work out. — Harvard Business Review, 6 Oct. 2026 Johnson, in an exclusive interview with CNBC ahead of the Friday announcement, blamed Texas Republicans for pretending to shrink the state government and outsourcing essential duties to contractors. — Justin Papp, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretending
  1. hypocritical
  2. posing
  3. simulating
  4. duplicitous
  5. playing
  6. assuming
  7. insincere
  8. acting
Adjective
  • The fine was controversial to begin with, as fans and pundits pointed out the NFL’s business with beer sponsors such as Bud Light and called the sensitivity over the celebration hypocritical.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Oct. 2026
  • In his appeal, Juszczyk also argued that fining players for pretending to drink beer was hypocritical given the NFL’s beer sponsorships.
    — Rick Maese, Washington Post, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of hypocritical
Verb
  • The Houthis have repeatedly attacked airports and oil infrastructure across the kingdom with drones and missiles that can change direction during flight, posing a challenge to interceptors.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Nearby, Pitch Perfect co-stars Brittany Snow and Anna Kendrick, who set the internet abuzz posing on the red carpet together hours earlier, strolled into the party side by side, both switching into leg-baring dresses.
    — Kelsey Stewart, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of posing
Verb
  • Simulating an investment banker’s work is fundamentally different from simulating a software engineer’s work, CEO Jerry Wu tells Fortune.
    — Wen Shao, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Silicon sampling troubles some polling traditionalists who are uneasy about ethical and other implications of simulating human responses.
    — W. Joseph Campbell, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of simulating
Adjective
  • At least Mark Zuckerberg had the decency to be duplicitous, Altman is just openly consumed by the mania of trying to win the most important technological arms race since the atom bomb.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 6 Oct. 2026
  • In Bird and Goldmark’s account (these collaborators are also married), the nihilistic, amoral, duplicitous, power-seeking Roy Marcus Cohn makes Niccolò Machiavelli seem like a rank amateur.
    — Martin Filler, The New York Review of Books, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of duplicitous
Verb
  • Each has the perspective of attending East Side schools, playing football and returning to teach and coach at the high school.
    — Tom Strong, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The main reason the Giants have a chance to win every week, though, despite all their injuries and heart-stopping endings, is that Jameis Winston is playing well as their starting quarterback.
    — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of playing
Verb
  • Check your insurance terms directly rather than assuming elective treatment or related complications are covered.
    — Kaitlyn Gomez, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
  • However, other analysts have expressed concerns about assuming that take-or-pay legal structures are iron-clad and about equating backlogs with revenue.
    — Tobias Burns, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of assuming
Adjective
  • Leigh feared the tracks might be too arch, too pretentious, too insincere.
    — Josephine Reisman, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
  • After the ceremony, Lewandowski spoke to Polish football show Moc Futbolu and reportedly labeled Messi’s Ballon d’Or speech as insincere.
    — Felipe Cardenas, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of insincere
Verb
  • And then a seven-hour-long GRB came along—acting like a Death Star whose planet-destroying beam refused to switch off—that defied all explanation.
    — Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • According to the team, the coordination is important because pushing or lifting an object changes the forces acting on a humanoid’s body.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of acting

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Cite this Entry

“Pretending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretending. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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