v., -tend·ed, -tend·ing, -tends.

v.tr.

1. To give a false appearance of; feign: “You had to pretend conformity while privately pursuing high and dangerous nonconformism” (Anthony Burgess).
2. To claim or allege insincerely or falsely; profess: doesn't pretend to be an expert.
3. To represent fictitiously in play; make believe: pretended they were on a cruise.
4. To take upon oneself; venture: I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong.

v.intr.

1. To feign an action or character, as in play.
2. To put forward a claim.
3. To make pretensions: pretends to gourmet tastes.

adj. Informal.

Imitation; make-believe: pretend money; pretend pearls.

[Middle English pretenden, from Old French pretendre, from Latin praetendere : prae-, pre- + tendere, to extend.]

verb

1. To take on or give a false appearance of: affect², assume, counterfeit, fake, feign, put on, sham, simulate. Idioms: make believe. See true/false.
2. To behave affectedly or insincerely or take on a false or misleading appearance of: act, counterfeit, dissemble, fake, feign, play-act, pose, put on, sham, simulate. See honest/dishonest, true/false.
3. To claim or allege insincerely or falsely: feign, profess. See true/false.
4. To contrive and present as genuine: counterfeit, fake, feign, simulate. Idioms: make believe, put on an act. See true/false.
5. To have the courage to put forward, as an idea, especially when rebuff or criticism is likely: dare, hazard, presume, venture. See try.

adjective

Made to imitate something else: artificial, imitation, manmade, mock, simulated, synthetic. See real/imaginary.

v

Definition: fake, falsify
Antonyms: tell truth

v

Definition: play the part of
Antonyms: be honest

---

IN BRIEF: To make believe.

You can pretend to be serious; you can't pretend to be witty. — Sacha Guitry (1885-1957)

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - gøre krav på
v. intr. - foregive, simulere, lege
adj. - imaginær

Nederlands (Dutch)
voorwenden, doen alsof, pretenderen, komedie spelen, veinzen, aanspraak maken op

Français (French)
v. tr. - simuler, faire comme si, avoir la prétention de, prétendre
v. intr. - faire semblant, jouer la comédie, prétendre à, revendiquer son droit à (un titre, la couronne)
adj. - feint, simulé, faux, soi-disant, prétendu, supposé

Deutsch (German)
v. - vorgeben, vortäuschen, sich verstellen, Anspruch erheben auf
adj. - vorgeblich

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - προσποιούμαι, υποκρίνομαι, καμώνομαι, παριστάνω, κάνω πως
adj. - προσποίηση

Italiano (Italian)
pretendere, simulare, fingere, far finta di, falso, simulato

Português (Portuguese)
v. - fingir
adj. - falso, de faz-de-conta

Русский (Russian)
притворяться, претендовать

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - fingir, aparentar, simular, disimular, pretender
v. intr. - fingir, aparentar, simular, disimular, pretender
adj. - fingido, simulado

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - föregiva, låtsas, förebära, göra anspråk på
adj. - låtsas-

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
佯装, 自命, 自称, 假装, 假扮, 妄求, 自封, 假装的, 假想的

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 佯裝, 自命, 自稱, 假裝, 假扮
v. intr. - 假裝, 妄求, 自封, 自稱
adj. - 假裝的, 假想的

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - ~인 체하다, 같이 꾸미다
v. intr. - 꾸미다, 속이다
adj. - 겉치레하는, 거짓의

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - ふりをする, ごっこをする, 主張する, あえて…する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يتظاهر, يدعي (صفه) تظاهر, ادعاء‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮התיימר ל-, טען ל-, ניסה, העז, התחזה, העמיד פנים‬
v. intr. - ‮התיימר ל-, טען ל-‬
adj. - ‮מדומה, כביכול‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.

toys pretend play