PRETEND: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for PRETEND?

Need another word that means the same as “pretend”? Find 56 synonyms and 30 related words for “pretend” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Pretend” are: act, dissemble, make, make believe, profess, affect, feign, sham, guess, hazard, venture, make as if, put on an act, play at, pass oneself off as, bluff, impersonate, fake, faked, professed, purported, simulate, put on, counterfeit, lay claim to, say that one owns, assert ownership of, make-believe, imaginary, imagined, pretended, made-up, fancied, unreal, fanciful, fictitious, fictive, mythical, feigned, mock, imitative, simulated, artificial, ersatz, dummy, false, faux, spurious, bogus, fraudulent, forged, pseudo

Pretend as a Noun

Definitions of "Pretend" as a noun

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “pretend” as a noun can have the following definitions:

• The enactment of a pretense.

Synonyms of "Pretend" as a noun (1 Word)

make-believe

The enactment of a pretense.

Usage Examples of "Pretend" as a noun

• It was just pretend.

Pretend as a Verb

Definitions of "Pretend" as a verb

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “pretend” as a verb can have the following definitions:

• Behave so as to make it appear that something is the case when in fact it is not.
• Put forward a claim and assert right or possession of.
• Behave unnaturally or affectedly.
• Give the appearance of feeling or possessing (an emotion or quality); simulate.
• State insincerely.
• Lay claim to (a quality or title.
• Put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation.
• Engage in an imaginative game or fantasy.
• Make believe with the intent to deceive.
• Represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like.

Synonyms of "Pretend" as a verb (27 Words)

act	Take action do something. Governments must act to reduce pollution.
affect	Have an emotional or cognitive impact upon. The medicine affects my heart rate.
assert ownership of	Assert to be true.
bluff	Deceive an opponent by a bold bet on an inferior hand with the result that the opponent withdraws a winning hand. The object is to bluff your opponent into submission.
counterfeit	Make a copy of with the intent to deceive. They counterfeited dollar bills.
dissemble	Hide under a false appearance. An honest sincere person with no need to dissemble.
fake	Tamper, with the purpose of deception. The politician was not well prepared for the debate and faked it.
faked	Make a copy of with the intent to deceive.
feign	Pretend to be affected by (a feeling, state, or injury. She feigned nervousness.
guess	Form a correct conclusion about something by guessing. I guess I d better tell you everything.
hazard	Put (something) at risk of being lost. The cargo business is too risky to hazard money on.
impersonate	Pretend to be (another person) for entertainment or fraud. It s a very serious offence to impersonate a police officer.
lay claim to	Put in a horizontal position.
make	Make formulate or derive in the mind. He had been trying to make Cynthia for two years now.
make as if	Change from one form into another.
make believe	Gather and light the materials for.
pass oneself off as	Go unchallenged; be approved.
play at	Cause to happen or to occur as a consequence.
profess	Practice as a profession teach or claim to be knowledgeable about. She entered St Margaret s Convent and was professed in 1943.
professed	State insincerely.
purported	Propose or intend.
put on	Arrange thoughts, ideas, temporal events.
put on an act	Cause to be in a certain state; cause to be in a certain relation.
say that one owns	Communicate or express nonverbally.
sham	Make believe with the intent to deceive. Was he ill or was he shamming.
simulate	Create a representation or model of. Red ochre intended to simulate blood.
venture	Proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers. He ventured the opinion that Putt was insane.

Usage Examples of "Pretend" as a verb

• I closed my eyes and pretended I was asleep.
• She pretended not to have known the suicide bomber.
• I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong.
• Children pretending to be grown-ups.
• He cannot pretend to sophistication.
• She pretended a greater surprise than she felt.
• Pretend the title of King.
• She pretends to be an expert on wine.
• She turned the pages and pretended to read.

Pretend as an Adjective

Definitions of "Pretend" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “pretend” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Not really what it is represented as being; imaginary.
• Imagined as in a play.

Synonyms of "Pretend" as an adjective (28 Words)

artificial	Artificially formal. The artificial division of people into age groups.
bogus	Fraudulent; having a misleading appearance. A bogus insurance claim.
counterfeit	Pretended; sham. Counterfeit 10 notes.
ersatz	Artificial and inferior. Ersatz emotion.
fake	(of a person) claiming to be something that one is not. Fake designer clothing.
false	Used in names of plants animals and gems that superficially resemble the thing properly so called e g false oat. A false or sour note.
fancied	Formed or conceived by the imagination. A fancied wrong.
fanciful	Indulging in or influenced by fancy. The falsehood about some fanciful secret treaties.
faux	Made in imitation; artificial. A faux fur jacket.
feigned	Simulated or pretended; insincere. Her eyes widened with feigned shock.
fictitious	Occurring in or invented for fiction. A fictitious address.
fictive	Created by the imagination. The obviously fictive genres poetry drama and the novel.
forged	Reproduced fraudulently. They have illegally entered the UK using forged travel documents.
fraudulent	Unjustifiably claiming or being credited with particular accomplishments or qualities. Fraudulent share dealing.
imaginary	Not based on fact; existing only in the imagination. Chris had imaginary conversations with her.
imagined	(of something unreal or untrue) believed to exist or be so. They perceive imagined slights where none exist.
imitative	(of words) formed in imitation of a natural sound. The derring do of our film heroes inspired us to imitative feats.
made-up	Having been paved.
make-believe	Imagined as in a play.
mock	Constituting a copy or imitation of something. Boys in mock battle.
mythical	Idealized, especially with reference to the past. A mythical customer whose name appears in brochures promoting the bank s services.
pretended	Adopted in order to deceive. A pretended interest.
pseudo	Not genuine but having the appearance of. Pseudoclassic.
sham	Bogus; false. A clergyman who arranged a sham marriage.
simulated	Reproduced or made to resemble; imitative in character. Under simulated combat conditions.
spurious	Born out of wedlock- E.A.Freeman. A spurious argument.
unreal	Lacking material form or substance unreal. In the half light the tiny cottages seemed unreal.

Usage Examples of "Pretend" as an adjective

• Dangling their legs in the water to catch pretend fish.
• The children poured out pretend tea for the dolls.

Associations of "Pretend" (30 Words)

act	Perform an action or work out or perform an action. She s just acting.
affectation	Behaviour, speech, or writing that is pretentious and designed to impress. An affectation of calm.
assume	Occupy or take on. It is reasonable to assume that such changes have significant social effects.
behave	Behave in a certain manner. It is not acceptable for a student to behave like that towards a teacher.
cant	Denoting a phrase or catchword temporarily current or in fashion. If they d stop canting about honest work they might get somewhere.
deign	Do something that one considers to be beneath one’s dignity. She did not deign to answer the maid s question.
dissemble	Disguise or conceal (a feeling or intention. An honest sincere person with no need to dissemble.
feign	Invent (a story or excuse). He feigned that he was ill.
figment	A contrived or fantastic idea. A figment of the imagination.
hypocrisy	An expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction. His target was the hypocrisy of suburban life.
impersonate	Assume or act the character of. It s a very serious offence to impersonate a police officer.
inactive	Not exerting influence or change. Inactive Crohn s disease.
insidious	Working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way. Insidious pleasures.
mincing	Affectedly dainty or refined. I don t have to go through the rest of my life with that mincing voice of yours.
moralistic	Narrowly and conventionally moral. A moralistic stance on advertising.
pretension	A claim or aspiration to a particular quality. His pretensions to the imperial inheritance.
pretext	A reason given in justification of a course of action that is not the real reason. The rebels had the perfect pretext for making their move.
prim	Assume a prim appearance. She primmed her lips after every bite of food.
prudery	Excessive or affected modesty.
prudish	Exaggeratedly proper. The prudish moral climate of the late 19th century.
pseudo	Not genuine but having the appearance of. The arty chat of a campus pseudo.
puritan	Someone who adheres to strict religious principles; someone opposed to sensual pleasures. Don t be such a puritan.
realistically	In a way that is accurate and true to life. This film realistically simulates the effects that a nuclear war could have.
refine	Make more complex, intricate, or richer. Refine the constant in the equation.
sham	Adopted in order to deceive. A clergyman who arranged a sham marriage.
shy	Having a dislike of or aversion to a specified thing. Shy of strangers.
simulate	Reproduce someone’s behavior or looks. It was impossible to force a smile to simulate pleasure.
smatter	To talk foolishly. She smatters Russian.
timid	Lacking conviction or boldness or courage. Whitewater rafting is not for the timid.