pretender

Perhaps only South Africa's Jacques Kallis, who played in many more Tests, is a pretender to the title of cricket's greatest all-rounder which was bestowed on Sobers by fellow legend Richie Benaud.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

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

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

And in return, they surely will win a third consecutive championship against a withering and overmatched group of pretenders that could add Skubal only in their dreams.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026

Arsenal have been the great pretenders to the Premier League title in recent years, finishing second in the past three seasons.

From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2026

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

That’s one short of a record for one regular-season weekend — not including conference title games — and an opportunity to identify serious playoff contenders, maybe expose pretenders and set the tone for conference races.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 20, 2023

Our house—the Novis family—we are great pretenders and defenders.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin