pretend

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To act as if something is true when it is not.

   You don't have to pretend that the soup tastes good.

2. 2
   adj

   Not real; imaginary or only acted out, especially in children's play.

   The children built a pretend castle out of cardboard.

3. 3
   noun

   The act of imagining or pretending.

   Don't worry, the monster isn't real; it's just pretend.

4. 4
   verb

   To claim a right to something such as a title or position.

   The exiled prince still pretended to the throne.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Pretend comes from Latin praetendere, “to claim” or “put forward,” formed from prae, “before,” and tendere, “to stretch” or “hold out.” It developed the sense of claiming to be something one is not.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-der. Proto-Italic *prai Proto-Italic *prai- Latin prae- Proto-Indo-European *ten- Proto-Indo-European *tend-der. Proto-Italic *tendō Latin tendō Latin praetendōbor. Anglo-Norman pretendreder. English pretend 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.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary