pretended

[ pri-ten-did ]

adjective

1. insincerely or falsely professed:

   a pretended interest in art.

2. feigned, fictitious, or counterfeit:

   His pretended wealth was proved to be nonexistent.

3. alleged or asserted; reputed.

Other Words From

• pre·tended·ly adverb
• self-pre·tended adjective
• unpre·tended adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pretended¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; pretend, -ed ²

Example Sentences

Jeanne de la Motte, a noblewoman fallen on hard times, pretended to be French Queen and tricked a cardinal into giving her the necklace, without paying.

From BBC

He even pretended to go to her funeral on Valentine's Day.

From BBC

He rang 999 and pretended he had found her hanging from a stairwell.

From BBC

He said that on 21 August 2023 he pretended to be trying to escape by acting "very suspiciously" next to a food delivery lorry.

From BBC

“It's bizarre to watch. And most young people, I think, are aware of it,” Rogan said, explaining to Trump, who pretended not to know why he drew more publicity than other candidates in 2016, that “the Internet's giving people information that they're not getting from anywhere else.”

From Salon