pretend
- 01 B1 Intermediate
v.to behave as if something is true when you know it is not.
v.to simulate a state, quality, or identity, either for deception or as part of a game.
Simple“The children liked to pretend they were explorers in a deep jungle.”
In context“She had to pretend to be interested in his long stories about stamp collecting just to remain polite during the dinner party.”
UsageCommonly followed by a 'to' infinitive or a 'that' clause.
PitfallHe pretended being asleep. He pretended to be asleep.The verb 'pretend' is followed by a to-infinitive, not a gerund (-ing form).
- 02 C1 Advanced
v.to claim that you have a certain skill, title, or right.
v.to lay claim to a particular status, right, or ability; often used in the negative to suggest modesty or honesty.
Simple“I do not pretend to be an expert on this difficult subject.”
In context“He did not pretend to any great legal knowledge, yet his instinctive sense of justice often led him to the correct conclusion.”
UsageOften takes the preposition 'to' when followed by a noun phrase.
- 03 B1 Intermediate
adj.not real; used in games or to describe something that is a copy.
adj.imaginary or feigned; used attributively to describe objects or situations in play.
Simple“The little boy served his mother some pretend tea in a plastic cup.”
In context“The training exercise involved a pretend emergency to test how quickly the hospital staff could evacuate the building.”
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the act of playing and imagining things.
n.the activity of engaging in imaginative or make-believe play.
Simple“The sisters spent the whole afternoon lost in a world of pretend.”
In context“Psychologists suggest that engaging in games of pretend is a vital stage in a child's cognitive and social development.”
Synonymsmake believeroleplayAntonyms
pretend vs intend — Pretend is acting out a fiction; intend is planning a future reality.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-der. Proto-Italic *prai Proto-Italic *prai- Latin prae- Proto-Indo-European *ten- Proto-Indo-European *tend-der. Proto-Italic *tendō Latin tendō Latin praetendōbor. Anglo-Norman pretendreder. English pretend From Anglo-Norman pretendre, Middle French pretendre (French prétendre (“to claim, demand”)), from Latin praetendere (“to put forward, hold out, pretend”), from prae- (“pre-”) + tendō (“stretch”); see tend.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.