Definitions for pretend
prɪˈtɛndpre·tend

Princeton's WordNet(1.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. make-believe, pretendadjective

   the enactment of a pretense

   "it was just pretend"

2. make-believe, pretendverb

   imagined as in a play

   "the make-believe world of theater"; "play money"; "dangling their legs in the water to catch pretend fish"

3. feign, sham, pretend, affect, dissembleverb

   make believe with the intent to deceive

   "He feigned that he was ill"; "He shammed a headache"

4. dissemble, pretend, actverb

   behave unnaturally or affectedly

   "She's just acting"

5. pretendverb

   put forward a claim and assert right or possession of

   "pretend the title of King"

6. guess, venture, pretend, hazardverb

   put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation

   "I am guessing that the price of real estate will rise again"; "I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong"

7. make, pretend, make believeverb

   represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like

   "She makes like an actress"

8. profess, pretendverb

   state insincerely

   "He professed innocence but later admitted his guilt"; "She pretended not to have known the suicide bomber"; "She pretends to be an expert on wine"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. pretendverb

   To claim, allege, especially when falsely or as a form of deliberate deception.

   Etymology: From pretendre, pretendre (French prétendre), from praetendere, present active infinitive of praetendo, from prae- + tendo; see tend.

2. pretendverb

   To feign, affect (a state, quality etc.).

   Etymology: From pretendre, pretendre (French prétendre), from praetendere, present active infinitive of praetendo, from prae- + tendo; see tend.

3. pretendverb

   To lay claim to (an ability, status, advantage etc.).

   Etymology: From pretendre, pretendre (French prétendre), from praetendere, present active infinitive of praetendo, from prae- + tendo; see tend.

4. pretendverb

   To make oneself appear to do or be doing something; to engage in make-believe.

   Etymology: From pretendre, pretendre (French prétendre), from praetendere, present active infinitive of praetendo, from prae- + tendo; see tend.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Pretendverb

   to lay a claim to; to allege a title to; to claim

   Etymology: [OE. pretenden to lay claim to, F. prtendre, L. praetendere, praetentum, to stretch forward, pretend, simulate, assert; prae before + tendere to stretch. See Tend, v. t. ]

2. Pretendverb

   to hold before, or put forward, as a cloak or disguise for something else; to exhibit as a veil for something hidden

   Etymology: [OE. pretenden to lay claim to, F. prtendre, L. praetendere, praetentum, to stretch forward, pretend, simulate, assert; prae before + tendere to stretch. See Tend, v. t. ]

3. Pretendverb

   to hold out, or represent, falsely; to put forward, or offer, as true or real (something untrue or unreal); to show hypocritically, or for the purpose of deceiving; to simulate; to feign; as, to pretend friendship

   Etymology: [OE. pretenden to lay claim to, F. prtendre, L. praetendere, praetentum, to stretch forward, pretend, simulate, assert; prae before + tendere to stretch. See Tend, v. t. ]

4. Pretendverb

   to intend; to design; to plot; to attempt

   Etymology: [OE. pretenden to lay claim to, F. prtendre, L. praetendere, praetentum, to stretch forward, pretend, simulate, assert; prae before + tendere to stretch. See Tend, v. t. ]

5. Pretendverb

   to hold before one; to extend

   Etymology: [OE. pretenden to lay claim to, F. prtendre, L. praetendere, praetentum, to stretch forward, pretend, simulate, assert; prae before + tendere to stretch. See Tend, v. t. ]

6. Pretendverb

   to put in, or make, a claim, truly or falsely; to allege a title; to lay claim to, or strive after, something; -- usually with to

   Etymology: [OE. pretenden to lay claim to, F. prtendre, L. praetendere, praetentum, to stretch forward, pretend, simulate, assert; prae before + tendere to stretch. See Tend, v. t. ]

7. Pretendverb

   to hold out the appearance of being, possessing, or performing; to profess; to make believe; to feign; to sham; as, to pretend to be asleep

   Etymology: [OE. pretenden to lay claim to, F. prtendre, L. praetendere, praetentum, to stretch forward, pretend, simulate, assert; prae before + tendere to stretch. See Tend, v. t. ]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Pretend

   "Pretend" is a popular song, written in 1952 by Lew Douglas, Cliff Parman, and Frank Levere. The best-known recording, by Nat King Cole was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 2346. It first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on January 31, 1953 and lasted 20 weeks on the chart, peaking at #3. Cole would later re-record the song for his 1961 album The Nat King Cole Story. The recording by Ralph Marterie was released by Mercury Records as catalog number 70045. It reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on February 7, 1953 at #16, its only week on the chart. The recording by Eileen Barton was released by Coral Records as catalog number 60927. It reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on March 7, 1953 at #18, its only week on the chart. On the Cash Box charts, where all versions of the song were combined, the song reached a peak of #5 in 1953. The song was subsequently recorded by Tab Smith, reaching #89 on the Billboard chart in 1957, and by Carl Mann, reaching #57 on Billboard and #56 on Cash Box in 1959. Alvin Stardust's cover version was a popular hit in the United Kingdom in 1981, when it reached number four in the UK singles chart. This cover was largely based on Carl Mann's 1959-version of this song.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Pretend

   prē-tend′, v.t. to hold out as a cloak for something else: to lay claim to: to attempt, undertake: to offer as true something that is not so: to affect to feel: (obs.) to offer, present.—v.i. to put in a claim: to make-believe.—ns. Pretence′, something pretended: appearance or show to hide reality: false show or reason: pretext: assumption: claim; Preten′dant, -ent, a pretender.—adjs. Preten′ded, Preten′sed, ostensible, assumed.—adv. Preten′dedly.—ns. Preten′der; Preten′dership.—adv. Preten′dingly.—n. Preten′sion, act of pretending: something pretended: false or fictitious appearance: claim either true or false.—adj. Preten′tious, marked by or containing pretence: claiming more than is warranted: presumptuous: arrogant.—adv. Preten′tiously, in a pretentious manner.—n. Preten′tiousness, the quality of being pretentious. [Fr. prétendre—L. prætendĕre—præ, before, tendĕre, tentum, tensum, to stretch.]

Matched Categories

1. • Act
   • Claim
   • Speculate

British National Corpus

1. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'pretend' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4246

2. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'pretend' in Verbs Frequency: #597

How to pronounce pretend?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say pretend in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of pretend in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of pretend in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of pretend in a Sentence

1. Dorothy DeBolt:

   Of course I don't always enjoy being a mother. At those times my husband and I hole up somewhere in the wine country, eat, drink, make mad love and pretend we were born sterile and raise poodles.

2. Barry Williams:

   As people and actors, we like each other, we care about each other, we protected each other. And we took on those roles in life… Now chemistry is something you can’t fake. You can’t write it, you can’t pretend it, you can’t act it. It’s there or it’s not there. As I look at episodes, I can see it. Cast members of the television series.

3. Mario Giulio Schinaia:

   If we want to be able to prove that (cars) have been sold by people who knew they were committing a crime, we need proof that people were aware, it is one thing if I sell water and pretend it's wine but if I sell water believing it is wine it's different.

4. Judge Saylor:

   I don't pretend to understand how he got himself to this point.

5. Sergio Ermotti:

   The case will now be transferred to the Court of Appeals which will hear the trial again in full. This process is expected to take several years, the superficial nature of the verdict is astounding and does not even pretend to address the arguments we presented during the five weeks of the trial. This will need to be covered by the appeals court.

Images & Illustrations of pretend

Popularity rank by frequency of use