pretended 1 of 2

adjective

pri-ˈten-dəd How to pronounce pretended (audio)
Definition of pretendednext
1
as in mock
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality he shows a pretended affection for his girlfriend's cat

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fake
not being or expressing what one appears to be or express hoped that his pretended interest in classical music would impress the boss

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

pretended

2 of 2

verb

past tense of pretend
1
as in posed
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

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2
as in assumed
to present a false appearance of as if I would ever pretend illness just to take off a day from work

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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 pretended
Verb
One, a 35-year-old man, pretended to be a San Francisco 49ers player or a wealthy real estate investor, the Department of Justice said. — Idaho Statesman, 28 Aug. 2026 Once upon a time, Republicans understood this, or at least pretended to. — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2026 The individual pretended to be from the Federal Trade Commission and told the victims to take funds out of their account and put it into a cryptocurrency kiosk, staying on the phone with them to avoid detection by bank tellers, officials said. — Dan Raby, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026 Built Through Adversity, Not Overnight Scaling from one property to more than 1,000 units is not a clean process, and Jake and Austin have never pretended otherwise. — Nia Bowers, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2026 As bait, the researchers created a fake startup, Ballena Azul, which pretended to focus on decentralized finance for large holders of cryptocurrency, which North Koreans have been known to target to fund the country’s regime. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 11 Aug. 2026 The woman got up on their table and gleefully pretended to tap dance, drawing an amused crowd of onlookers. — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 6 Aug. 2026 Unafraid of sinking as low as possible at the welfare office, Dennis pretended to be recovering from a crack problem while Dee feigned intellectual disability, but the caseworker wasn’t buying it. — Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 28 July 2026 At first, Universal set up that experience with a clever narrative shift that pretended to put guests into a Universal movie after spending the tour learning how they were made. — Robert Niles, Oc Register, 21 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretended
  1. mock
  2. fake
  3. posed
  4. assumed
  5. strained
  6. double
  7. acted
  8. simulated
Adjective
  • The outfit consisted of a sleeveless, mock-neck blouse in mocha-brown, tucked into a tawny suede skirt that hit just above her ankles.
    — Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Mirroring the look of King’s footwear, Osaka sported a metallic silver pleated top with a mock neckline and no sleeves.
    — Amina Ayoud, Footwear News, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of mock
Adjective
  • Jump scares, dudes with chainsaws, fake blood and adult drinks accentuated with gummy worms.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Days later, Britain’s AI Security Institute said that Anthropic’s most advanced AI model had used fake identities to cover its tracks and attempt to plant malicious code during testing.
    — Anna Cooban, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of fake
Verb
  • After a company initiates a recall, the FDA evaluates the situation and assigns a recall classification based on the level of health hazard posed by the product.
    — Dian Zhang, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The attorneys general also accused the social media giant of misleading the public about the risks its platforms posed to young people.
    — Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of posed
Verb
  • The machinery switches on earlier than long assumed, as brain scans of infants reveal.
    — Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2026
  • For the latter, establish what is known, what is assumed, what still needs to be understood and what requires testing.
    — Mustafa Shreet, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of assumed
Adjective
  • Some are dealing with strained budgets and exorbitant medical bills, while others avoid the doctor in fear of the cost.
    — Ali Swenson, Sun Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Based on a Naver Webtoon of the same name that has amassed almost 3 billion views, the 10-part series follows the strained relationship of the Empress Navier and her husband Emperor Sovieshu.
    — Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of strained
Adjective
  • In its breathless finale, Curry races through the mansion reconstructing every murder, flinging himself through doors and corridors while maintaining the verbal precision of a stage actor performing at double speed.
    — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The optional 18-way sport seats fitted to this test car are another reminder that the GT3 is meant to live a double life of sorts.
    — Bradley Iger, ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of double
Verb
  • He was bounced before the fourth quarter and acted like a principled victim.
    — Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The case led in 2022 to investigations of four German museums that in some cases unwittingly acted as intermediaries for sales between the dealers and art museums worldwide.
    — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of acted
Verb
  • Astronomers simulated four Milky Way-sized galaxies without any dark matter clumps, then peppered them with roughly 15,000 stellar streams.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Some were animations, but more than half since March used AI that simulated real people.
    — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of simulated

Browse Nearby Words

pretend
pretended
pretender
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Cite this Entry

“Pretended.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretended. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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