pretend
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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"So what I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot," Trump said recently at a rally in South Carolina.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
He wasn’t working overtime to pretend he didn’t love this music exactly as fiercely as the rest of us punters.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
“This won’t be easy, and I won’t pretend otherwise,” Carney said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Cohen’s office, in a statement, said “California should not pretend an owner has been found merely because the mail was not returned.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
She did not have to pretend to be angry with him.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
In one widely shared video, Maleeha Akhter, 21, an activist with a left-wing student group, pretends to rock a baby.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
"He is not happy, he pretends he is happy," said Tamim.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
“He’s not crazy, he only pretends to be” isn’t a viable defense in the real world.
From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2026
The bot’s final product is exactly that: an essay that pretends to divulge, to confess, to promise, and to portray.
From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026
No one even pretends to be happy like Dad does before one of his work parties.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
A classic Arabic expression describes the brazen audacity of those who attack and then cry victim: “He slapped me, pretended to cry, and then ran to complain.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
He then pretended to board the old Air Force One, only to secretly switch planes by hiding in a refueling truck, due to security threats.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
Rand pretended to be me and I pretended to be Rand,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
In response to a separate question about political disquiet, Forbes said that "politicians have pretended to be able to deliver utopia for too long".
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Didn’t want to make the words real by hearing myself say them out loud: scared that if I pretended to forget who we were, it would mean accepting that the past was truly dead.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Ignoring amortization is akin to pretending the ice cube hasn’t gotten smaller.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
No one is pretending it's just what Farage tried to joke was a "little, local difficulty".
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
The players are really invested in pretending that that is not the case.
From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026
The military has also historically understood something Hegseth apparently does not: Morale does not come from pretending everything is fine.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026
We stay in the sea for hours pretending we are mermaids, and when we finally come out, our skin is all wrinkly.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
Vocabulary lists containing pretend
"Eleven"
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"Eleven," Vocabulary from the short story
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"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll, Chapters 1–3
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