pretend to (something)
idiom
formal
: to claim that one has (something, such as a quality or ability)
She pretends to a deep religious devotion, but I don't believe her.
—usually used in negative statementsI don't pretend to any expertise in these matters.
Examples of pretend to (something) in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
To get a corporate project approved, the sponsors have to pretend to be extremely optimistic.
—
Ilya Strebulaev and Alex Dang, TIME, 22 May 2024
Ripa asked, which prompted Jonathan to stand up from his chair and pretend to pull down his pants, with Drew following his lead.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 17 May 2024
Investigators say Reyes would give the documents to a third individual, Esmeralda Parga, 26, who would call the drivers and pretend to be from their insurance company.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2024
During the 1813 season, Daphne and Simon pretend to court each other but end up developing real feelings.
—Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 15 May 2024
At the very end, though, the deeply talented Celtics were able to dominate the Heat without injured center Kristaps Porzingis, while the Heat could not even pretend to compete without Butler.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 2 May 2024
The Doctor’s trusty sonic screwdriver has been redesigned to resemble a remote control or flip phone, because Davies worried that the old sonic looked too much like a gun, which would encourage kids to pretend to shoot at one another.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 2024
In reality, the mission was to steal the vessels and pretend to discover them in international waters — exactly what the team did.
—Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024
The girls, for instance, love to pretend to be a couple of irascible grannies, usually causing trouble for the people around them, but occasionally proving helpful.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
Ilya Strebulaev and Alex Dang, TIME, 22 May 2024
Ripa asked, which prompted Jonathan to stand up from his chair and pretend to pull down his pants, with Drew following his lead.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 17 May 2024
Investigators say Reyes would give the documents to a third individual, Esmeralda Parga, 26, who would call the drivers and pretend to be from their insurance company.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2024
During the 1813 season, Daphne and Simon pretend to court each other but end up developing real feelings.
—Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 15 May 2024
At the very end, though, the deeply talented Celtics were able to dominate the Heat without injured center Kristaps Porzingis, while the Heat could not even pretend to compete without Butler.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 2 May 2024
The Doctor’s trusty sonic screwdriver has been redesigned to resemble a remote control or flip phone, because Davies worried that the old sonic looked too much like a gun, which would encourage kids to pretend to shoot at one another.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 2024
In reality, the mission was to steal the vessels and pretend to discover them in international waters — exactly what the team did.
—Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024
The girls, for instance, love to pretend to be a couple of irascible grannies, usually causing trouble for the people around them, but occasionally proving helpful.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pretend to (something).' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Pretend to (something).” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pretend%20to%20%28something%29. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
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