pretender

Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of the last shah of Iran and pretender to the throne, was a scheduled speaker, and the event was packed with Iranian monarchists.

From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2026

Like many previous movies about those who ply that physical trade, “Rental Family” explores the anguish of a paid pretender troubled by increasingly genuine feelings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025

And finally, the much expected transition, with the Italian legend stepping aside to take charge of the Brazil national team, and the young pretender Alonso returning to the Bernabeu as his successor.

From BBC ● May 9, 2025

Artists can sniff out genius from fakes, and Thanos sure looks like a parody of a pretender T.O.P. has encountered in the wild.

From Salon ● Jan. 5, 2025

I don’t know who to be: the one who admits that I can’t do it, or the pretender.

From "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

The pretenders came to Glasgow with a weak away record in the league - two wins in 11 between this season and the end of last, both against Hibs - and tried to go toe-to-toe.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

I care about L.A. enough to hold its leaders to a higher accountability, and to scrutinize posers and pretenders who think they can do a better job.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026

The game was billed as a meeting between the club that wears the crown and the pretenders whose recent attempts to win the title have ended in the bitter disappointment of falling short.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2025

Corny posers and pretenders didn’t care about sneakers the way we did; that feeling of opening up a box of new Jordan’s was something that we owned.

From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2024

It seemed that the man was on the lookout for pretenders, for kids who didn’t really want to be there, for wimps.

From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli