as in hypocritical
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Dissimilar Words
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
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Recent Examples of pretending
Harry De Cosemo, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Jann Blackstone, Boston Herald, 26 Apr. 2026
At this point, the NFL is not even pretending the draft is about the handful of prospects sitting in the green room.
—Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 26 Apr. 2026
ABC‘s Scrubs has returned 16 years later, pretending like its final Season 9 was nothing more than a fever dream.
—Amanda Champagne-Meadows, Deadline, 25 Apr. 2026
It is anticipated that supervisors will attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of voters, by pretending this measure is a new implementation of term limits instead of a weakening of term limits.
—John Franklin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
This can involve pretending to be an IT customer support and manipulating an employee at a target company into handing over internal access.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 24 Apr. 2026
Most occur as the closing credits roll, whether pretending to be viciously mauled by a bear or, even more unnervingly, clearly superimposing his face onto the body of a performing cellist.
—Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 22 Apr. 2026
Keno brought his goofy side to every practice, getting laughs at stinky feet jokes, or pretending to run into a door.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2026
But Long is not interested in pretending that the body is not a thing that transforms.
—Zeba Blay, SELF, 21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
There can be no more pretending, briefing or hiding.
—Harry De Cosemo, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Verb
Because good ex-etiquette isn’t about pretending the past didn’t happen.
—Jann Blackstone, Boston Herald, 26 Apr. 2026
At this point, the NFL is not even pretending the draft is about the handful of prospects sitting in the green room.
—Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 26 Apr. 2026
ABC‘s Scrubs has returned 16 years later, pretending like its final Season 9 was nothing more than a fever dream.
—Amanda Champagne-Meadows, Deadline, 25 Apr. 2026
It is anticipated that supervisors will attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of voters, by pretending this measure is a new implementation of term limits instead of a weakening of term limits.
—John Franklin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
This can involve pretending to be an IT customer support and manipulating an employee at a target company into handing over internal access.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 24 Apr. 2026
Most occur as the closing credits roll, whether pretending to be viciously mauled by a bear or, even more unnervingly, clearly superimposing his face onto the body of a performing cellist.
—Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 22 Apr. 2026
Keno brought his goofy side to every practice, getting laughs at stinky feet jokes, or pretending to run into a door.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2026
But Long is not interested in pretending that the body is not a thing that transforms.
—Zeba Blay, SELF, 21 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretending
Adjective
-
How hypocritical that of me, Amy, and Gretchen, the only one married is me.—
David Sedaris,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
That’s not just awkward; that’s hypocritical.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Kennedy, according to the former, further flew under the radar by not posing for photos during the event, which was also attended by Martha Stewart, Iman, Lionel Richie, Donatella Versace, Karlie Kloss and more.—
Jami Ganz,
New York Daily News,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Kelly’s final Instagram post was from November of last year, posing with family members.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
That means trains are now operating on a full schedule, simulating real service, to prove the system is ready for the public.—
Amanda Starrantino,
CBS News,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Games like Space Engineers and Surviving Mars also do a great job of simulating energy bottlenecks; one of the major challenges of powering a real moon base isn't so much generating enough power as delivering it efficiently and reliably.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Their duplicitous conduct during negotiations is countered by the cold honesty of Iranian missiles.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Sailing aboard The Hispaniola, Jim and Bess are caught between the charming, terrifying pirate Long John Silver, and the debonair, duplicitous British agent Aaron Graham.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
As the Ado Annie-like Betsy, a horny teen-ager whose father owns a shotgun, Kurtz is playing a character who should be, and kind of is, a one-joke punch line.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Twin sisters Jordan and Jaedyn Gomez, playing for Boone, lost their second round individual bracket doubles match 6-0, 6-0 against Doral Academy’s top seeded duo of Payton Seidle-Lubowitz and Stefany Zamora.—
Buddy Collings,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
With a razor-thin majority, the Speaker can afford to lose only two GOP votes on any party-line bill, assuming that all members are present and Democrats are united in opposition.—
Mike Lillis,
The Hill,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Providers also can fall victim to inadvertent bias, assuming a young, otherwise healthy patient must be dealing with something other than shingles.—
Alyssa Sparacino,
Glamour,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
As soon as Talarico’s primary victory over Jasmine Crockett was certain, conservatives called on those remarks and others to swiftly and uniformly deride his Christianity as blasphemous and insincere.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
24 Apr. 2026
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However, Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, felt Lorincz’s courtroom apology was insincere.—
Lynsey Eidell,
PEOPLE,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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With Sturm acting as the third forward high on the shift and Quinn Hughes busy breaking ankles all over the zone and reading perfectly off Brock Faber, McCarron won a puck battle with Heiskanen after Jake Oettinger couldn’t swallow a Faber shot 13 seconds before Foligno’s eventual goal.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Between Dua’s world tour and Callum’s acting gigs, the pair managed to squeeze in a sunny escape to the gorgeous Italian island last summer, with their adventures across the island going viral within minutes of them leaving each spot.—
Connor Sturges,
Condé Nast Traveler,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pretending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretending. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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