I. pre ‧ tend 1 S2 W3 /prɪˈtend/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: praetendere 'to stretch out in front, make an excuse' , from tendere 'to stretch' ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to behave as if something is true when in fact you know it is not, in order to deceive people or for fun
pretend (that)
We can’t go on pretending that everything is OK.
Let’s pretend we’re on the moon.
pretend to do something
She pretended not to notice.
He’s not asleep – he’s just pretending.
To pretend ignorance of the situation would be irresponsible.
I can’t marry her and to pretend otherwise would be wrong.
2 . [transitive usually in negatives] to claim that something is true, when it is not
pretend (that)
I can’t pretend I understand these technical terms (=I admit I do not understand them) .
pretend to do/be something
The book doesn’t pretend to be for beginners.
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THESAURUS
▪ pretend /prɪˈtend/ to deliberately behave as though something is true when it is not, either for fun or to deceive someone:
Mark closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.
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She shouted but he pretended that he hadn’t heard her.
▪ act to behave in a particular way – often used when saying that someone is pretending that something is true, when it is not:
Paul acted as if nothing was wrong.
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She always acts like she’s pleased to see me, but I’m sure she’s not.
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He enjoyed acting the fool (=pretending to be stupid) and couldn’t care less about his studies.
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The boy acted all innocent and said that he knew nothing about the money.
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I tried to act the good housewife when I got married.
▪ make out something informal to pretend that something is true, in order to avoid doing something or to deceive someone:
I didn’t want to go, so I made out I was busy.
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She always makes out that she doesn’t have any money.
▪ be putting it on informal to be pretending to be ill, hurt etc, especially in order to avoid doing something, or to make other people feel sympathy for you:
She’s not really upset, she’s just putting it on.
▪ feign interest/surprise/ignorance/illness etc formal to pretend that you are interested, surprised etc:
‘Oh really!’ he said, trying to feign interest.
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Sometimes it’s best just to feign ignorance (=pretend that you do not know) .
▪ keep up appearances to pretend that your life is happy and successful, especially when you have suffered some kind of trouble or loss:
Although we were poor, our family always tried to keep up appearances.
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She did her best to keep up appearances after her husband left her.
■ to pretend to be someone or something
▪ impersonate to copy the way that a famous person speaks and behaves, in order to entertain people, or to pretend to have an official job, in order to trick people:
He’s brilliant at impersonating the President.
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It’s illegal to impersonate a police officer.
▪ pose as somebody to pretend to be someone else, especially someone in an official position, so that it is easier for you to do something bad or illegal:
He posed as a doctor to gain access to the hospital.
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There have been cases of thieves posing as telephone engineers.
▪ masquerade as somebody/something disapproving to pretend to be someone or something else – used especially when saying that someone or something is not who they claim to be:
Their advertisements are always full of people in white coats masquerading as scientists.
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It’s not real news – it’s government propaganda masquerading as news.
II. pretend 2 BrE AmE adjective
imaginary or not real – used especially by children:
We sang songs around a pretend campfire.