pretend
To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearanceTo speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance.
Recorded US: Dvortygirl, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
» He pretended not to be listening.
Er tat so, als würde er nicht zuhören. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Er hat so getan, als würde er nicht zuhören. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Er tat so, als hörte er nicht zu. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Он сделал вид, что не слушает. — Biga
Він робив вигляд, що не слухає. — deniko
Він зробив вигляд, що не слухає. — deniko
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRTranslations
9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 2
By meaning 2
Examples
1657 sentencesHe pretended not to be listening.
Він робив вигляд, що не слухає. — deniko
ruОн сделал вид, что не слушает. — Biga
deEr tat so, als würde er nicht zuhören. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
She pretended that she was sick.
Вона зробила вигляд, що хвора. — deniko
ruОна сделала вид, что больна. — marafon
deSie gab vor, krank zu sein. — Manfredo
He pretended to be a doctor.
Він вдавав із себе лікаря. — ChickenKiev
ruОн притворился врачом. — Selena777
deEr gab vor, Arzt zu sein. — Zaghawa
Meaning
7 senses(intransitive)To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance.
You don't have to pretend that the soup tastes fine.
You don't have to pretend to like the soup.
so tun, als ob
де́лать видdélatʹ vid, сде́лать видsdélatʹ vid, притворя́тьсяpritvorjátʹsja
удава́тиudaváty, вдава́тиvdaváty
(formal, intransitive)To lay claim (to an ability, status, advantage, etc.).
The family's exile was intended to stop them pretending to the throne.
претендоватьpretendovatʹ
To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance.
(intransitive, transitive)To feign, affect (a state, quality, etc.).
She's pretending illness to get out of the business meeting.
He pretended an air of indifference that he'd never assumed before.
vortäuschen
More meanings 4
To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance.
(intransitive)To engage in make-believe.
She moved her fingers across the desk, pretending to play the piano.
She didn't have a real piano to play, so she just pretended.
(obsolete, transitive)To hold before, or put forward, as a cloak or disguise for something else; to exhibit as a veil for something hidden.
(obsolete, transitive)To intend; to design, to plot; to attempt.
(obsolete, transitive)To hold before one; to extend.
- make believe with the intent to deceive
- behave unnaturally or affectedly
- put forward a claim and assert right or possession of
- put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation
Origin
From Anglo-Norman pretendre, Middle French pretendre (French prétendre (“to claim, demand”From Anglo-Norman pretendre, Middle French pretendre (French prétendre (“to claim, demand”)), from Latin praetendere (“to put forward, hold out, pretend”), from prae- (“pre-”) + tendō (“stretch”); see tend.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
pretends, pretending, pretended, pretendedTenses
pretend · pretended · will pretend · have pretendedSynonyms
12 synonymsWord family
13 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
Collocations
12 patterns- should quit pretending
- should stop pretending
- pretended not to
- quit pretending to
- stop pretending to
- stop pretending
- quit pretending
- is only pretending
- just pretending to
- at least pretend
- only pretending to
- let's pretend
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.