pretending 1 of 2

adjective

as in hypocritical

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pretending

2 of 2

verb

present participle of pretend
1
as in posing
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
2
as in simulating
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

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 pretending
Adjective
There can be no more pretending, briefing or hiding. — Harry De Cosemo, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Verb
The two are only able to unlock a new understanding of each other by pretending to be strangers meeting for the first time. — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026 The fix is to stop pretending a general-purpose adult chatbot is a children's tutor. — Dana Williams, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026 Don't be one of those loudmouths yelling and screaming and pretending. — Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026 Other hackers have been capitalizing on the leaks too, even pretending to release a 113GB torrent of the game that turned out to be malware. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 25 Aug. 2026 If something’s changed, speak up instead of pretending everything is business as usual, Aquarius. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026 Governing requires trade-offs, and honest leaders should explain them instead of pretending that borrowing offers a painless alternative. — Carolyn Bourdeaux, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026 Commenters will often take the joke further, by pretending to take the joke seriously and suggesting that those filmed be canceled. — David MacK, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026 But Washington cannot stave off a transition to a new regional order by simply pretending that nothing has changed. — Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretending
  1. hypocritical
  2. posing
  3. simulating
  4. duplicitous
  5. playing
  6. assuming
  7. insincere
  8. acting
Adjective
  • There is something deeply hypocritical about discovering and using the language of women’s liberation only when your own status, reputation, or income is at stake.
    — Laura Jung, Vogue, 25 Aug. 2026
  • That some people in these industries, including those who are well paid, would look at our economy and seek out other ways of doing things is neither hypocritical nor surprising.
    — Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of hypocritical
Verb
  • The crabs were first spotted in the Mediterranean Sea in the last century but really began wreaking havoc only around a decade ago, when their population surged, posing a threat both to native biodiversity and to the fishing industry.
    — Gennaro Tomma, Scientific American, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Supposedly posing a threat to their idyll on the outskirts are various marauding splinter groups running amok through the barren wasteland of the American Mountain West.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of posing
Verb
  • The $31 billion spending program Taipei unveiled is one of a number of efforts to respond, such as expanding live-fire exercises to include the use of first-person view drones and simulating a maritime blockade.
    — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • My own view is that the bill should have more restrictive testing requirements around edge cases—for instance, simulating power outages or major emergencies—before driverless vehicles can be deployed.
    — Rogé Karma, The Atlantic, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of simulating
Adjective
  • Cypher probably is best known for his role as the politics-savvy and sometimes duplicitous Police Chief Fletcher Daniels in more than 70 episodes of NBC’s 1980s cop drama Hill Street Blues from 1981-87.
    — Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The more beautiful a woman, the more likely her exterior attributes displayed a duplicitous nature.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 July 2026
Definition of duplicitous
Verb
  • The service got its name from the original Mechanical Turk, an 18th century chess-playing robot that was actually controlled by a human chess master.
    — Annie Palmer, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
  • If your dog has any dental issues, playing any type of pulling game is not advisable.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of playing
Verb
  • Coronated at age 3 after his father’s death, the curious boy king in colorful robes mesmerized world leaders and ruled through regents until assuming full authority at 18.
    — Rodney Muhumuza, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
  • At those levels, assuming no additional charges, paying off the debt while making minimum payments could take nearly 27 years and cost nearly $13,000 in interest alone, according to Bankrate's credit card calculator.
    — Mike Winters, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of assuming
Adjective
  • The implication is that stage types and progressive politicians are craven, submissive, and insincere.
    — Erik Forrest Jackson, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Survivors have expressed frustration and criticized the Japanese government's support for nuclear deterrence for being insincere.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of insincere
Verb
  • There are no Cubs players involved in the TikTok series, the Cubs told me, which is unfortunate since Crow-Armstrong has acting in his DNA — his mother and father are both actors — and probably would be at least as good as Damon.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Along with the move back to Britain, Meghan’s acting return was a subject the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had reportedly been discussing for some time, according to People.
    — Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of acting

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Cite this Entry

“Pretending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretending. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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