Pretend

  • 11pretend — I UK [prɪˈtend] / US verb Word forms pretend : present tense I/you/we/they pretend he/she/it pretends present participle pretending past tense pretended past participle pretended ** 1) [intransitive/transitive] to behave in a particular way… …

    English dictionary

  • 12pretend — pre|tend1 [ prı tend ] verb ** 1. ) intransitive or transitive to behave in a particular way because you want someone to believe that something is true when it is not: We were never going to make the marriage work, so why pretend? pretend to do… …

    Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • 13pretend — pre|tend1 W3S2 [prıˈtend] v [Date: 1300 1400; : Latin; Origin: praetendere to stretch out in front, make an excuse , from tendere to stretch ] 1.) [I and T] to behave as if something is true when in fact you know it is not, in order to deceive… …

    Dictionary of contemporary English

  • 14pretend — 1 /prI tend/ verb 1 (I, T) to behave as if something is true when in fact you know it is not: We re not really sisters; we were just pretending. | pretend (that): The candidate pretended she had worked for a newspaper before. | pretend to do sth …

    Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • 15pretend — /pri tend /, v.t. 1. to cause or attempt to cause (what is not so) to seem so: to pretend illness; to pretend that nothing is wrong. 2. to appear falsely, as to deceive; feign: to pretend to go to sleep. 3. to make believe: The children pretended …

    Universalium

  • 16pretend — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} verb ADVERB ▪ otherwise ▪ You know what this is all about. Why pretend otherwise? ▪ at least ▪ Couldn t you at least pretend to enjoy it? ▪ just …

    Collocations dictionary

  • 17pretend — [[t]prɪte̱nd[/t]] pretends, pretending, pretended 1) VERB If you pretend that something is the case, you act in a way that is intended to make people believe that it is the case, although in fact it is not. [V that] I pretend that things are… …

    English dictionary

  • 18pretend — pre•tend [[t]prɪˈtɛnd[/t]] v. 1) to cause or attempt to cause (what is not so) to seem so; claim: pretending that nothing is wrong[/ex] 2) to put forward a false appearance of, as to deceive; feign: to pretend illness[/ex] 3) to make believe: The …

    From formal English to slang

  • 19pretend — 01. The children were [pretending] to be cats by walking on all fours, and making meowing sounds. 02. You knew I was angry with you; don t [pretend] you didn t. 03. When my daughter was little, she liked to listen to Pachabel s canon, and… …

    Grammatical examples in English

  • 20pretend — I. verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo French pretendre, from Latin praetendere to allege as an excuse, literally, to stretch out, from prae pre + tendere to stretch more at thin Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. to give a false… …

    New Collegiate Dictionary