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Word BookShort entry

Pretending

noun/pɹɪtˈɛndɪŋ/
Definition
the act of giving a false appearance
make believe with the intent to deceive
Pronunciation
🇺🇸American English
/pɹɪtˈɛndɪŋ/
🇬🇧British English
/pɹɪtˈɛndɪŋ/
🇮🇳Indian English
/pɹɪtˈɛndɪŋ/
3 syllables Say it as /pɹɪtˈɛndɪŋ/.
Examples
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
Parts of Speech
nounthe act of giving a false appearance
“his conformity was only pretending”
verbmake believe with the intent to deceive
“He feigned that he was ill”
verbbehave unnaturally or affectedly
“She's just acting”
verbput forward a claim and assert right or possession of
“pretend the title of King”
verbput forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation
“I am guessing that the price of real estate will rise again”
verbrepresent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like
“She makes like an actress”
verbstate insincerely
“He professed innocence but later admitted his guilt”
Word Forms
pretendverbmake believe with the intent to deceive
simulateverbmake a pretence of
feignverbmake a pretence of
feigningnounpretending with intention to deceive
shamnounsomething that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be
shammernounsomeone shirking their duty by feigning illness or incapacity
pretendernouna person who makes deceitful pretenses
pretensenounpretending with intention to deceive
pretendingnounthe act of giving a false appearance
dissemblernouna person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives
dissemblingnounpretending with intention to deceive
actnouna manifestation of insincerity
Pretendernouna claimant to the throne or to the office of ruler (usually without just title)
pretensionnounthe advancing of a claim
guessnounan estimate based on little or no information
guessernouna person who guesses
guessingnounan estimate based on little or no information
hazardnounan unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
pretendnounthe enactment of a pretense
make-believenounthe enactment of a pretense
Around the World
Europe
🇩🇪German
vortäuschend
der Akt, einen falschen Eindruck zu erwecken
🇫🇷French
faire semblant
le fait de donner une fausse apparence
🇪🇸Spanish
fingiendo
el acto de dar una apariencia falsa
🇮🇹Italian
fingendo
l'atto di dare una falsa apparenza
🇳🇱Dutch
doen alsof
de handeling van het geven van een valse schijn
🇵🇹Portuguese
fingindo
o ato de dar uma falsa aparência
🇷🇺Russian
притворяясь
действие по созданию ложного внешнего вида
India
🇮🇳Hindi
नाटक
झूठा दिखावा करने की क्रिया
🇧🇩Bengali
ভান
একটি মিথ্যা চেহারা দেওয়ার কাজ
🇮🇳Tamil
பாசாங்கு
தவறான தோற்றத்தை கொடுக்கும் செயல்
🇮🇳Telugu
నటిస్తున్నారు
తప్పుడు రూపాన్ని ఇచ్చే చర్య
🇮🇳Marathi
ढोंग करणे
खोटे स्वरूप देण्याची कृती
🇮🇳Gujarati
ઢોંગ
ખોટો દેખાવ આપવાની ક્રિયા
🇮🇳Kannada
ನಟಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ
ಸುಳ್ಳು ನೋಟವನ್ನು ನೀಡುವ ಕ್ರಿಯೆ
🇮🇳Malayalam
നടിക്കുന്നു
തെറ്റായ രൂപം നൽകുന്ന പ്രവൃത്തി
🇮🇳Punjabi
ਦਿਖਾਵਾ
ਇੱਕ ਝੂਠੀ ਦਿੱਖ ਦੇਣ ਦਾ ਕੰਮ
🇵🇰Urdu
دکھاوا
جھوٹی شکل دینے کا عمل
East & Southeast Asia
🇨🇳Chinese
假装
做出虚假外表的行为
🇯🇵Japanese
ふりをする
偽りの外見を与える行為
🇰🇷Korean
가장하는
거짓된 모습을 보이는 행위
🇻🇳Vietnamese
giả vờ
hành động đưa ra một sự xuất hiện sai lầm
🇹🇭Thai
แสร้งทำเป็น
การกระทำให้ปรากฏเป็นเท็จ
🇮🇩Indonesian
berpura-pura
tindakan memberikan penampilan palsu
🇵🇭Filipino
nagpapanggap
ang gawa ng pagbibigay ng huwad na anyo
🇲🇾Malay
berpura-pura
perbuatan memberi rupa palsu
Middle East
🇸🇦Arabic
التظاهر
فعل إعطاء مظهر كاذب
🇮🇷Persian
وانمود کردن
عمل دادن ظاهر دروغین
🇹🇷Turkish
rol yapmak
sahte bir görünüm verme eylemi
🇮🇱Hebrew
מעמיד פנים
מעשה מראה שווא
Test Yourself1 / 3
What is the primary definition of the word 'pretending'?
The primary meaning of 'pretending' is 'the act of giving a false appearance'.
Which of the following sentences uses the word 'pretending' in a grammatically correct way?
Using 'pretending' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.
In which domain is the word 'pretending' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?
'pretending' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.
Community Poll1 / 6
How often do you encounter the word 'pretending' in your daily reading?
Very Often
Occasionally
Rarely
Never
Do you find 'pretending' easy to spell?
Yes, very easy
Somewhat easy
A bit confusing
Extremely hard
In your opinion, does the word 'pretending' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?
Positive
Neutral
Gloomy
Vibrant
Which age group is most likely to use 'pretending' in regular conversations?
Kids (3-12)
Teens (13-19)
Adults (20-60)
Seniors (60+)
How likely are you to use 'pretending' in a professional email?
Very likely
Somewhat likely
Not very likely
Never
Would you classify 'pretending' as formal, casual, or slang?
Formal
Casual
Slang
Archaic
Pick an option to see how others voted
This word is also in the Advanced book — want the full, immersive treatment (age meanings, culture, creative use, deeper Hindi & exercises)? Open the Advanced entry →