# pretend

Pronunciation: say "pri-TEND" US /pɹəˈtɛnd/, UK /pɹɪˈtɛnd/

## Verb

1. To take part in make-believe, acting out imagined situations as a game or for fun.
   - Simple: To play by acting as if something untrue is real, just for fun.
   - _Small children pretend constantly, turning sticks into swords and blankets into castles._
   - _When we were young, my sister and I would pretend for hours after school._
2. To feign or affect a state or quality: to display feelings or attributes one does not actually have.
   - Simple: To act as if you feel or have something that you really do not.
   - _She pretended confidence as she walked into the interview room._
   - _Skilled liars can pretend convincingly, so investigators look for small slips._
3. To speak or act in a manner that creates a false or simulated appearance.
   - Simple: To speak or act in a way that gives a false picture of what is true.
   - _Politicians who pretend rather than engage honestly soon lose public trust._
   - _He kept pretending throughout dinner, hiding how angry he felt._
5. To lay claim to an ability, status, advantage, or similar entitlement.
   - Simple: To say that you have a right to something, such as a title or skill.
   - _Two cousins pretend to the duchy, and the dispute may reach the courts._
   - _She would never pretend to expertise she had not earned._

## Adjective

4. Imaginary or feigned; not genuinely what it appears or is claimed to be.
   - Simple: Made up or imaginary, not real even though it may seem real.
   - _The children set up a pretend shop and traded imaginary goods._
   - _His enthusiasm was entirely pretend, a performance to please the boss._

## Noun

6. The activity of make-believe: imaginative play in which someone acts out invented situations. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: The act of playing make-believe, acting as if things are real just for fun.
   - _Most of her childhood was happy hours of pretend with her younger brother._
   - _In therapy, pretend gives young patients a safe way to express big feelings._

## Verb

7. To put something forward as a cloak or disguise for something else; to display it as a veil over what is hidden. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To put something forward as a cover to hide your real reason.
8. To intend or purpose something; to design, plot, or attempt to bring it about. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To plan, intend, or secretly plot to do something.
9. To hold something before one; to extend or stretch it forth. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To hold something out or stretch it forward.

## Origin

From Anglo-Norman and Middle French pretendre (modern French prétendre "to claim, demand"), from Latin praetendere "to put forward, hold out, pretend," formed from prae- ("pre-") plus tendō ("stretch").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pretend (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).