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Webster 1913 Edition


Pretend

Pre-tend′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Pretended
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Pretending
.]
[OE.
pretenden
to lay claim to, F.
prétendre
, L.
praetendere
,
praetentum
, to stretch forward, pretend, simulate, assert;
prae
before +
tendere
to stretch. See
Tend
,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
To lay a claim to; to allege a title to; to claim.
Chiefs shall be grudged the part which they
pretend
.
Dryden.
2.
To hold before, or put forward, as a cloak or disguise for something else; to exhibit as a veil for something hidden.
[R.]
Lest that too heavenly form,
pretended

To hellish falsehood, snare them.
Milton.
3.
To hold out, or represent, falsely; to put forward, or offer, as true or real (something untrue or unreal); to show hypocritically, or for the purpose of deceiving; to simulate; to feign;
as, to
pretend
friendship
.
This let him know,
Lest, willfully transgressing, he
pretend

Surprisal.
Milton.
4.
To intend; to design; to plot; to attempt.
[Obs.]
Such as shall
pretend

Malicious practices against his state.
Shakespeare
5.
To hold before one; to extend.
[Obs.]
“His target always over her pretended.”
Spenser.

Pre-tend′

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To put in, or make, a claim, truly or falsely; to allege a title; to lay claim to, or strive after, something; – usually with to.
“Countries that pretend to freedom.”
Swift.
For to what fine he would anon
pretend
,
That know I well.
Chaucer.
2.
To hold out the appearance of being, possessing, or performing; to profess; to make believe; to feign; to sham;
as, to
pretend
to be asleep
.
“[He] pretended to drink the waters.”
Macaulay.

Webster 1828 Edition


Pretend

PRETEND'

,
Verb.
T.
[L. proetendo; proe, before, and tendo, to tend, to reach or stretch.]
1.
Literally, to reach or stretch forward; used by Dryden, but this use is not well authorized.
2.
To hold out, as a false appearance; to offer something feigned instead of that which is real; to simulate, in words or actions.
This let him know,
Lest willfully transgressing, he pretend
Surprisal.
3.
To show hypocritically; as, to pretend great zeal when the heart is not engaged; to pretend patriotism for the sake of gaining popular applause or obtaining an office.
4.
To exhibit as a cover for something hidden.
Lest that too heavenly form, pretended
To hellish falsehood, snare them. [Not in use.]
5.
To claim.
Chiefs shall be grudg'd the part which they pretend.
[In this we generally use pretend to.]
6.
To intend; to design. [Not used.]

PRETEND'

,
Verb.
T.
To put in a claim, truly or falsely; to hold out the appearance of being, possessing or performing. A man may pretend to be a physician, and pretend to perform great cures. Bad men often pretend to be patriots.

Definition 2024


pretend

pretend

See also: prétend

English

Verb

pretend (third-person singular simple present pretends, present participle pretending, simple past and past participle pretended)

  1. To claim, allege, especially when falsely or as a form of deliberate deception. [from 14th c.]
    • 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, XVIII.23:
      "After what past at Upton, so soon to engage in a new amour with another woman, while I fancied, and you pretended, your heart was bleeding for me!"
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess:
      ‘It's rather like a beautiful Inverness cloak one has inherited. Much too good to hide away, so one wears it instead of an overcoat and pretends it's an amusing new fashion.’
    • 2009, "Vanity publishing", The Economist, 13 Apr 2009:
      I have nothing but contempt for people who hire ghost-writers. But at least most faux authors have the decency to pretend that they are sweating blood over "their" book.
  2. To feign, affect (a state, quality, etc.). [from 15th c.]
    • Milton
      This let him know, / Lest, willfully transgressing, he pretend / Surprisal.
    • 2007, The Guardian, 29 Oct 2007:
      Gap and other clothes manufacturers should stop using small subcontractors because they are difficult to control. Instead, they should open up their own fully-owned production facilities so that they cannot pretend ignorance when abuses are committed.
  3. To lay claim to (an ability, status, advantage, etc.). [from 15th c.] (originally used without to)
    • Dryden
      Chiefs shall be grudged the part which they pretend.
    • 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.25:
      People observed the diversity of schools and the acerbity of their disputes, and decided that all alike were pretending to knowledge which was in fact unattainable.
  4. To make oneself appear to do or be doing something; to engage in make-believe.
    • 1814, Jane Austen, Mansfield Park:
      "The truth is, Ma'am," said Mrs. Grant, pretending to whisper across the table to Mrs. Norris, "that Dr. Grant hardly knows what the natural taste of our apricot is [...]."
    • 2003, Duncan Campbell, The Guardian, 23 Jan 2003:
      Luster claimed that the women had consented to sex and were only pretending to be asleep.
  5. (transitive, obsolete) To hold before, or put forward, as a cloak or disguise for something else; to exhibit as a veil for something hidden.
    • Milton
      Lest that too heavenly form, pretended / To hellish falsehood, snare them.
  6. (transitive, obsolete) To intend; to design; to plot; to attempt.
    • Shakespeare
      Such as shall pretend / Malicious practices against his state.
  7. (transitive, obsolete) To hold before one; to extend.
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, VI.11:
      Pastorella […] Was by the Captaine all this while defended, / Who, minding more her safety then himselfe, / His target alwayes over her pretended […].

Usage notes

  • This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Related terms

Translations

External links

  • pretend in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • pretend in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911