2 Answers
pretend |pri?tend|
verb
1 [ with clause or infinitive ] speak and act so as to make it appear that something is the case when in fact it is not: I closed my eyes and pretended I was asleep | she turned the pages and pretended to read.
• engage in a game or fantasy that involves supposing something that is not the case to be so: children pretending to be grown-ups.
• [ with obj. ] give the appearance of feeling or possessing (an emotion or quality); simulate: she pretended a greater surprise than she felt.
2 [ no obj. ] (pretend to) lay claim to (a quality or title): he cannot pretend to sophistication.
adjective [ attrib. ] informal
not really what it is represented as being; used in a game or deception: the children are pouring out pretend tea for the dolls.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin praetendere ‘stretch forth, claim,’ from prae ‘before’ + tendere ‘stretch.’ The adjective dates from the early 20th cent.
11 years ago. Rating: 1 | |