1
as in poses
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
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2
as in assumes
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
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Recent Examples of pretends
Beauty, then, arises from the pain and struggle of experiencing oneself as a site of divine truancy, and ugly is that which pretends to be directly equivalent to the soul, God, etc.
—
Esther Yi, New Yorker, 14 June 2026
The person on the phone pretends to be IT support and tries to convince the employee to install remote desktop software.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2026
Scary Movie 6 spoofed the horror flick by turning the terrifying Christmas mall massacre scene into a laugh out loud moment with Cindy being present when Art the Clown pretends to be a mall Santa.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
Pig-butchering scams, in which a stranger pretends to befriend you and then coaxes you into putting money into a cryptocurrency scam, don’t involve that same act now urgency.
—Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 1 June 2026
Elsa argues with her mother, Isabel doesn’t like to be questioned and pretends everything’s all right, while Amalia hangs with dodgy characters and makes claims that seem real only to her.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 25 May 2026
This team is improved, has a deeper roster, no longer pretends Kris Bryant is a major league player and features more functional pitchers (No, seriously).
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 4 Apr. 2026
The narrator of Lerner’s tight, astonishingly trenchant new book pretends to record part of his conversations with his elderly mentor and then uses his memory to write a profile.
—Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
Sporting a bright yellow raincoat and rainboots, Garcia pretends to be a journalist reporting on the storm in West Kendall as a palm tree leaf slaps her across the face.
—Xitlalic Montelongo, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2026
Esther Yi, New Yorker, 14 June 2026
The person on the phone pretends to be IT support and tries to convince the employee to install remote desktop software.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2026
Scary Movie 6 spoofed the horror flick by turning the terrifying Christmas mall massacre scene into a laugh out loud moment with Cindy being present when Art the Clown pretends to be a mall Santa.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
Pig-butchering scams, in which a stranger pretends to befriend you and then coaxes you into putting money into a cryptocurrency scam, don’t involve that same act now urgency.
—Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 1 June 2026
Elsa argues with her mother, Isabel doesn’t like to be questioned and pretends everything’s all right, while Amalia hangs with dodgy characters and makes claims that seem real only to her.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 25 May 2026
This team is improved, has a deeper roster, no longer pretends Kris Bryant is a major league player and features more functional pitchers (No, seriously).
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 4 Apr. 2026
The narrator of Lerner’s tight, astonishingly trenchant new book pretends to record part of his conversations with his elderly mentor and then uses his memory to write a profile.
—Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
Sporting a bright yellow raincoat and rainboots, Garcia pretends to be a journalist reporting on the storm in West Kendall as a palm tree leaf slaps her across the face.
—Xitlalic Montelongo, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretends
Verb
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Lilypad also poses an existential threat to Bonnie's less mind-numbingly addictive toys, including Woody, Buzz, and Jessie, the last of whom takes center stage in this new movie.—
Eliana Dockterman,
Time,
18 June 2026
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This view, the article warns, poses significant AI safety implications.—
Andréa Morris,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
Verb
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The phrase assumes that fatness belongs firmly in the past, yet the very need for such a term suggests otherwise.—
Virgie Tovar,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
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My thesis simply assumes that geopolitical risk, tight inventories, and lingering supply disruption keep crude supported enough to prevent a deeper breakdown in energy equities.—
Tony Zhang,
CNBC,
10 June 2026
Verb
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Jessie Mei Li, who plays the American Cola despite being resolutely English, agrees.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
15 June 2026
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Since at least 2010, the father and son have sought to bring clients together by holding World Cup watch parties at new properties, particularly when Brazil plays.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
14 June 2026
Verb
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This year's scenario simulates an airplane crash into a building, creating multiple injuries and casualties.—
Hannah McIlree,
CBS News,
17 June 2026
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The Supercomputer simulates the remaining fixtures of a season 10,000 times and analyses the results to create an average league table from those simulations.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
Verb
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The crust and top of the mantle make up another area called the lithosphere, which acts like a skin surrounding the Earth's surface.—
Brandi D. Addison,
USA Today,
15 June 2026
-
This is a world where strong weathering acts as a perfect thermostat.—
Scott K. Johnson,
ArsTechnica,
15 June 2026
Verb
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All proudly professes himself as a man of faith.—
Paul Dehner Jr,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
-
After the massive trauma crisis is resolved, Owen professes his desire to be with Teddy and move to Paris, where Teddy was considering a once-in-a-lifetime research position.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
Verb
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With his multi-instrumentalist bandmates, PJ Moore and co-songwriter Robert Bell, Buchanan zooms into these exchanges to prolong them or dissembles them into jagged pieces that leave the bigger picture to us.—
Sam Sodomsky,
Pitchfork,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The heavy side part feigns an almost asymmetrical look, which offsets heaviness on the ends and frames the face in a fun way.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
16 June 2026
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Below, Warren Zaire-Emery feigns a run towards his own goal to get on the blind side of a forward.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
5 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pretends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretends. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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