pretend.
To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance.
Meaning & usage
To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance.
You don't have to pretend that the soup tastes fine.
You don't have to pretend to like the soup.
To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance. To engage in make-believe.
She moved her fingers across the desk, pretending to play the piano.
She didn't have a real piano to play, so she just pretended.
To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance. To feign, affect (a state, quality, etc.).
She's pretending illness to get out of the business meeting.
He pretended an air of indifference that he'd never assumed before.
To lay claim (to an ability, status, advantage, etc.).
The family's exile was intended to stop them pretending to the throne.
To hold before, or put forward, as a cloak or disguise for something else; to exhibit as a veil for something hidden.
To intend; to design, to plot; to attempt.
To hold before one; to extend.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *préh₂i? Proto-Italic *prai Proto-Italic *prai- Latin prae- Proto-Indo-European *ten- Proto-Indo-European *tend- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *téndeti Proto-Italic *tendō Latin tendō Latin praetendōbor. Anglo-Norman pretendreder. English pretend From Anglo-Norman pretendre, Middle French pretendre (French prétendre (“to claim, demand”)), from Latin praetendere (“to put forward, hold out, pretend”), from prae- (“pre-”) + tendō (“stretch”); see tend.
Not really what it is represented as being; imaginary, feigned.
As children we used to go on "spying" missions around the neighbour's house, but it was all pretend.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *préh₂i? Proto-Italic *prai Proto-Italic *prai- Latin prae- Proto-Indo-European *ten- Proto-Indo-European *tend- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *téndeti Proto-Italic *tendō Latin tendō Latin praetendōbor. Anglo-Norman pretendreder. English pretend From Anglo-Norman pretendre, Middle French pretendre (French prétendre (“to claim, demand”)), from Latin praetendere (“to put forward, hold out, pretend”), from prae- (“pre-”) + tendō (“stretch”); see tend.
The act of engaging in pretend play.
We used to dress up in our grandparents' old clothes and play pretend.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *préh₂i? Proto-Italic *prai Proto-Italic *prai- Latin prae- Proto-Indo-European *ten- Proto-Indo-European *tend- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *téndeti Proto-Italic *tendō Latin tendō Latin praetendōbor. Anglo-Norman pretendreder. English pretend From Anglo-Norman pretendre, Middle French pretendre (French prétendre (“to claim, demand”)), from Latin praetendere (“to put forward, hold out, pretend”), from prae- (“pre-”) + tendō (“stretch”); see tend.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.