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Synonyms for pretending
| Grammar : Noun |
| Spell : pri-tend |
| Phonetic Transcription : prɪˈtɛnd |
Top 10 synonyms for pretending
Définition of pretending
Origin :- late 14c., "to profess, assert, maintain" (a claim, etc.), "to direct (one's) efforts," from Old French pretendre "to lay claim," from Latin praetendere "stretch in front, put forward, allege," from prae "before" (see pre-) + tendere "to stretch," from PIE root *ten- "to stretch" (see tend).
- Main modern sense of "feign, put forward a false claim" is recorded from c.1400; the older sense of simply "to claim" is behind the string of royal pretenders (1690s) in English history. Meaning "to play, make believe" is recorded from 1865. In 17c. pretend also could mean "make a suit of marriage for," from a sense in French. Related: Pretended; pretending.
- noun feigning
- Either that or pretending—I don't know which, and I don't care.
- Extract from : « In the Midst of Alarms » by Robert Barr
- I am an adept in pretending that I don't see, and I don't hear.
- Extract from : « Her Father's Daughter » by Gene Stratton-Porter
- My mother sent for me down, pretending to want to say something to me.
- Extract from : « Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9) » by Samuel Richardson
- I walked straight towards the man, pretending not to know he was there.
- Extract from : « My Double Life » by Sarah Bernhardt
- You ought to be ashamed of yourself, an old fellow like you pretending to be so good-looking.
- Extract from : « Albert Durer » by T. Sturge Moore
- That's exactly what I was pretending to be afraid you might do.
- Extract from : « Alice Adams » by Booth Tarkington
- Pretending to be friendly with me, and knowing all the time that you were doing your best to cheat——'
- Extract from : « A Woman Intervenes » by Robert Barr
- The boys think I'm just pretending to do my duty for the looks of it; but I ain't.
- Extract from : « Southern Lights and Shadows » by Various
- I sat there all evening pretending to read and feeling that he was doing the same.
- Extract from : « The Harbor » by Ernest Poole
- I mean to say, it was the most utter rot, pretending seriously that way.
- Extract from : « Ruggles of Red Gap » by Harry Leon Wilson
Words or expressions associated with your search
- be sitting pretty
- command-line interpreter
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- interpret
- interpretation
- interpreter
- interpretive
- lack of pretension
- misinterpret
- misinterpretation
- preteen
- pretend
- pretended
- pretender
- pretending
- pretense
- pretension
- pretentious
- pretentiousness
- preterition
- pretermission
- pretermit
- preternatural
- pretext
- prettify
- prettily
- pretty
- pretty much
- pretty penny
- pretty speech
- re-interpreting
- reinterpreting
- sit pretty
- under false pretense
- unpretentious
- unpretentiously
- unpretentiousness
- use pretext
- vain pretensions
- without pretense
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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019