as in to pretend
to present a false appearance of
in public they pass for being a loving couple, but in reality they are only friends
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pass (for)
Verb
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And its erasure marked the beginning of centuries of political attempts to pretend that slavery never happened.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026 -
Online adult platforms are being severely restricted these days as new laws banning materials involving adults pretending to be under 18 are put into place.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
3 May 2026
Verb
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The Chernobyl disaster occurred when technicians at the power station, near Pripyat in the north of Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, ran a test on reactor number four to simulate shutting it down during an electricity blackout.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
26 Apr. 2026
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To simulate Antarctica’s brutally cold temperatures, Khare trained inside a storage freezer set to 5 degrees Fahrenheit in downtown Los Angeles, running on a treadmill while dialing in every detail.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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California’s plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 assumes a steep drop in driving.—
Aaron Cantú,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
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Many programs rely on standardized intervention lists, assuming similar outcomes across suppliers when every facility operates under its own set of constraints, meaning what succeeds in one place could prove a bust in another.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Footwear News,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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When the deadline passed at the beginning of April, she was put on leave at her job at a healthcare IT company and now, as a single mother of a college freshman, has no income.—
Hallie Golden,
Los Angeles Times,
2 May 2026
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These luscious green leaves can also get quite big, putting on a tropical show in your bathroom.—
Lauren Wellbank,
Martha Stewart,
2 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Pass (for).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pass%20%28for%29. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
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