1
as in mock
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality
he shows a pretended affection for his girlfriend's cat
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
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Recent Examples of pretended
Sam Sacks, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2022
The woman is long gone, so Freer has to imagine her consent — in a history so full of gaps, coercion, and disappearance, a pretended connection is better than none at all.
—Helen Shaw, Vulture, 28 Mar. 2022
No, seriously: People were very upset by these shoes, or at least pretended to be.
—Heather Wilhelm, National Review, 31 Aug. 2017
David Bauder, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026
Davis wore disguises on multiple video calls with potential investors in 2024 and pretended to be three different NFL players.
—Ryan Gaydos Outkick, FOXNews.com, 28 Apr. 2026
That intrusion began with phishing calls to the company’s technology help desk by hackers who pretended to be employees requesting a reset of their authentication credentials.
—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026
The power struggle swirls around the saintly, ineffectual King Henry until gradually the dynamic York, who has pretended to support Margaret while secretly hatching his own plot, emerges as the chief contender for the throne.
—Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Apr. 2026
Albini phoned the Lemonheads’ Evan Dando and pretended to be Madonna’s assistant, and placed him on hold for 45 minutes.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2026
One cheeky Instagram Reel sees the two sitting across from each other at a table as Bradford pretended to lecture Brunette.
—Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
Einbinder, playing along as though she’d been caught, pretended a producer was calling her offstage and got up to leave while the set erupted.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2026
Call center workers often pretended to be Apple or Microsoft employees.
—Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
What most activates Dunn’s rage is the misogyny that only deepened amid all the pretended freedoms of the counterculture.
—Sam Sacks, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2022
The woman is long gone, so Freer has to imagine her consent — in a history so full of gaps, coercion, and disappearance, a pretended connection is better than none at all.
—Helen Shaw, Vulture, 28 Mar. 2022
No, seriously: People were very upset by these shoes, or at least pretended to be.
—Heather Wilhelm, National Review, 31 Aug. 2017
Verb
Dressed in a tux and standing behind a podium Thursday, Kimmel pretended to deliver a comic routine for the WHCA dinner.
—David Bauder, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026
Davis wore disguises on multiple video calls with potential investors in 2024 and pretended to be three different NFL players.
—Ryan Gaydos Outkick, FOXNews.com, 28 Apr. 2026
That intrusion began with phishing calls to the company’s technology help desk by hackers who pretended to be employees requesting a reset of their authentication credentials.
—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026
The power struggle swirls around the saintly, ineffectual King Henry until gradually the dynamic York, who has pretended to support Margaret while secretly hatching his own plot, emerges as the chief contender for the throne.
—Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Apr. 2026
Albini phoned the Lemonheads’ Evan Dando and pretended to be Madonna’s assistant, and placed him on hold for 45 minutes.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2026
One cheeky Instagram Reel sees the two sitting across from each other at a table as Bradford pretended to lecture Brunette.
—Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
Einbinder, playing along as though she’d been caught, pretended a producer was calling her offstage and got up to leave while the set erupted.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2026
Call center workers often pretended to be Apple or Microsoft employees.
—Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 13 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretended
Adjective
-
Analysts published mock drafts with the Panthers taking Jordyn Tyson and Omar Cooper Jr.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The segment was the comedian's mock alternative speech to the White House Correspondents' dinner, which aired two days before the real event the Trumps attended together ended in gunfire.—
Mandalit del Barco,
NPR,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Prosecutors allege Burke later bought a shovel, chainsaws, a body bag, and a blue inflatable kiddie pool under a fake name online, and used the items to dismember Rivas in his garage.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
1 May 2026
-
Artificial Plants Designer Ashley Hauza says a fake ficus tree on a porch isn't going to fool anyone.—
Tessa Cooper,
The Spruce,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
On Tuesday, San Joaquin County officials declared an emergency over the threat posed by the golden mussel.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
1 May 2026
-
The issue has posed substantial difficulties amid an increase in tourism.—
Abhimanyu Ghoshal,
New Atlas,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
Then the ball was tipped, and Hyland assumed his role as an irritant of Denver’s corner shooters.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
-
The experience gave me a front-row seat to the coast’s dramatic beauty, and also a lesson in the abundance of the Arctic, a region often assumed to be barren.—
Karen Gardiner,
Travel + Leisure,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Redick has had to shuffle the roster pieces around since, using the final five games of the regular season to assess his rotation options without Doncic and Reaves, who also missed 19 straight games from Christmas until February with a strained calf.—
Benjamin Royer,
Oc Register,
30 Apr. 2026
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Earlier in the day, Charles delivered a rare address to a joint session of Congress, highlighting the second day of his four-day state visit and placing the spotlight on the strained but enduring relationship between his country and the United States.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Stephon Castle and Deni Avdija received double techs for this sequence at the end of Spurs-Blazers Game 4.—
The Athletic NBA Staff,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The first two Washington Nationals batters reached with a walk and a double in the third inning Saturday, giving the visitors runners on second and third with no outs.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The federal judge in that case ruled that a jury could find that State Farm had acted in bad faith if the plaintiffs' lawyers demonstrated that the company ignored certain kinds of hail damage.—
Michael Copley,
NPR,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The April 22 incident took place during dismissal in the Hancock County School District, which said students acted quickly to safely stop the bus, contact emergency services and remain calm until help arrived.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Boone said Carlos Rodón, set back by some hamstring tightness, simulated two innings in a bullpen session on Wednesday.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The team members simulated different atomic arrays to get a sense of how fast each size could crack the two main encryption schemes, called Rivest–Shamir–Adleman (RSA) and elliptic curve cryptography (ECC).—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pretended.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretended. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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