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| pre·tend [ pri ténd ] |
verb (past and past participle pre·tend·ed, present participle pre·tend·ing, 3rd person present singular pre·tends) |
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| Definition: |
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1. transitive and intransitive verb act as if something were true: to make believe that something is the case or that you are doing something by using your imagination or acting skills
  The little girl liked to pretend that she was an astronaut.
We pretended to be interested in what she was saying.
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2. transitive verb make insincere claim about something: to claim untruthfully or exaggeratedly to be or to have a particular thing, or imply something in this way
I don't pretend to be an authority on this.
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3. transitive verb make something seem to be true: to act in a way intended to make somebody believe something untrue or misleading
pretending to be sick
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4. intransitive verb claim to own something: to make an untruthful or dubious claim of ownership or the right to something, especially something valuable, admirable, or prestigious
(
formal
)
pretends to the throne
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adjective |
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| Definition: |
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imaginary: existing only in the imagination, not real
(
informal
)
(
usually used by children
)
I made a pretend house where my pretend horse lives.
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| [14th century. Directly or via French< Latin praetendere "extend in front" < tendere "to stretch"] |
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| pre·tend·ed adjective |
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