pretend

/pri-ˈtend/

Middle English pretenden "to claim (to be), profess to have, feign oneself to be, proffer, intend, propose," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French pretendre "to lay claim to, allege in court pending proof," borrowed from Latin praetendere "to hold or stretch out, put forward as a pretext, allege in excuse, show deceptively," from prae- pre-tendere "to extend outward, stretch, spread out"

verb

  1. to give a false appearance of being, possessing, or performing

  2. to make believe : feign

  3. to claim, represent, or assert falsely

does not pretend to be a psychiatrist

assume affect pretend simulate feign counterfeit sham mean to put on a false or deceptive appearance. assume often implies a justifiable motive rather than an intent to deceive. affect implies making a false show of possessing, using, or feeling.

adjective

  1. imaginary, make-believe

  2. not genuine : mock

  3. being a nonfunctional imitation

had a pretend pal with whom he talked

idiom

  1. to claim that one has (something, such as a quality or ability) —usually used in negative statements

She pretends to a deep religious devotion, but I don't believe her.