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to pretend
01
to act in a specific way in order to make others believe that something is the case when actually it is not so
Transitive: to pretend to do sth
Examples
He pretended to enjoy the meal, even though it did n't taste good, to avoid causing offense.
She pretended to be interested in the conversation to avoid hurting her friend's feelings.
02
to act as if experiencing or having an emotion or trait without truly feeling it
Transitive: to pretend an emotion
Examples
She pretended happiness to avoid worrying her friends.
He could barely pretend interest in the dull conversation.
03
represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like
Transitive: to pretend to do sth | to pretend that
Examples
The children pretended they were pirates searching for hidden treasure.
She pretended the sofa was a boat, navigating through imaginary waves.
Examples
He tried to pretend to expertise in the matter, but his inexperience showed.
He can not pretend to any particular knowledge of the law, as he ’s never studied it.
Pretend
01
the enactment of a pretense
pretend
01
imagined as in a play
Lexical Tree
pretended
pretender
pretending
pretend
