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.
See Examples For:
But I won’t pretend my hands are clean.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
And this "enabled the club to pretend that such funds represented operating income".
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
But I don’t want to pretend I value the friendship more than I do, simply because she’s generous.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
I don’t pretend to know the motivations of Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and other tech titans who last weekend announced their view that the development of artificial intelligence requires government oversight to avert global catastrophe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
I can pretend I’m fine with it for a little bit longer, and then I’ll be free.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
The case not only ignores these major competitors in the theatrical market but also pretends this market represents the entirety of the competitive playing field.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 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
She pretends to zip my lips, and they snap together tightly.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Also this year, Cohen’s press officer secretly was recorded by a woman who pretended to be on a date with him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 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
“This is the start of the hard phase and I have never pretended otherwise,” Mladenov said on Monday on social media.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
He pretended the money was for "football equipment, council liabilities, Companies House fees, charity registration costs and business penalties".
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
I pretended to be a silly girl who has nothing better to do after school.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
Immigration enforcement have made arrests in connection with a suspected criminal network believed to be behind dozens of fake asylum claims from people pretending to be gay.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
It would be strange for the Dodgers to bench Shohei Ohtani, but it’s clear that pretending he’s healthy enough to provide meaningful at-bats isn’t helping.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Learning how to fall and pretending you have superpowers can’t cancel out physics.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
A fraudster can try to cultivate a financial or romantic relationship by pretending to be someone else.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
A guy and a girl sit squashed next to each other on its bench, laughing as they bang on it, pretending like they know what they’re doing.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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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