| pretense | | |
| n. (act) | 1. feigning, pretence, pretending, pretense, simulation | the act of giving a false appearance.; "his conformity was only pretending" |
| ~ dissimulation, deception, dissembling, deceit | the act of deceiving. |
| ~ show, appearance | pretending that something is the case in order to make a good impression.; "they try to keep up appearances"; "that ceremony is just for show" |
| ~ pretend, make-believe | the enactment of a pretense.; "it was just pretend" |
| ~ affectation, affectedness, mannerism, pose | a deliberate pretense or exaggerated display. |
| ~ masquerade | making a false outward show.; "a beggar's masquerade of wealth" |
| n. (communication) | 2. dissembling, feigning, pretence, pretense | pretending with intention to deceive. |
| ~ deception, misrepresentation, deceit | a misleading falsehood. |
| ~ bluff | pretense that your position is stronger than it really is.; "his bluff succeeded in getting him accepted" |
| ~ pretext, stalking-horse | something serving to conceal plans; a fictitious reason that is concocted in order to conceal the real reason. |
| ~ hypocrisy, lip service | an expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction. |
| n. (cognition) | 3. make-believe, pretence, pretense | imaginative intellectual play. |
| ~ imagery, imaging, mental imagery, imagination | the ability to form mental images of things or events.; "he could still hear her in his imagination" |
| n. (attribute) | 4. pretence, pretense, pretension | a false or unsupportable quality. |
| ~ artificiality | the quality of being produced by people and not occurring naturally. |
| n. (attribute) | 5. guise, pretence, pretense, pretext | an artful or simulated semblance.; "under the guise of friendship he betrayed them" |
| ~ semblance, gloss, color, colour | an outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately misleading.; "he hoped his claims would have a semblance of authenticity"; "he tried to give his falsehood the gloss of moral sanction"; "the situation soon took on a different color" |
| pretend | | |
| n. (act) | 1. make-believe, pretend | the enactment of a pretense.; "it was just pretend" |
| ~ pretending, pretense, feigning, simulation, pretence | the act of giving a false appearance.; "his conformity was only pretending" |
| v. (communication) | 2. affect, dissemble, feign, pretend, sham | make believe with the intent to deceive.; "He feigned that he was ill"; "He shammed a headache" |
| ~ misrepresent, belie | represent falsely.; "This statement misrepresents my intentions" |
| ~ make believe, pretend, make | represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like.; "She makes like an actress" |
| ~ play possum | to pretend to be dead. |
| ~ take a dive | pretend to be knocked out, as of a boxer. |
| ~ bullshit, talk through one's hat, bull, fake | speak insincerely or without regard for facts or truths.; "The politician was not well prepared for the debate and faked it" |
| ~ mouth | articulate silently; form words with the lips only.; "She mouthed a swear word" |
| v. (creation) | 3. act, dissemble, pretend | behave unnaturally or affectedly.; "She's just acting" |
| ~ behave, act, do | behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself.; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people" |
| ~ sham, feign, simulate, assume | make a pretence of.; "She assumed indifference, even though she was seething with anger"; "he feigned sleep" |
| v. (possession) | 4. pretend | put forward a claim and assert right or possession of.; "pretend the title of King" |
| ~ arrogate, lay claim, claim | demand as being one's due or property; assert one's right or title to.; "He claimed his suitcases at the airline counter"; "Mr. Smith claims special tax exemptions because he is a foreign resident" |
| v. (communication) | 5. guess, hazard, pretend, venture | put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation.; "I am guessing that the price of real estate will rise again"; "I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong" |
| ~ forebode, predict, prognosticate, foretell, promise, anticipate, call | make a prediction about; tell in advance.; "Call the outcome of an election" |
| ~ suspect, surmise | imagine to be the case or true or probable.; "I suspect he is a fugitive"; "I surmised that the butler did it" |
| ~ speculate | talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way and with an element of doubt or without sufficient reason to reach a conclusion.; "We were speculating whether the President had to resign after the scandal" |
| v. (communication) | 6. make, make believe, pretend | represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like.; "She makes like an actress" |
| ~ dissemble, feign, pretend, sham, affect | make believe with the intent to deceive.; "He feigned that he was ill"; "He shammed a headache" |
| ~ go through the motions | pretend to do something by acting as if one was really doing it.; "She isn't really working--she's just going through the motions" |
| ~ act, play, represent | play a role or part.; "Gielgud played Hamlet"; "She wants to act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role"; "She played the servant to her husband's master" |
| v. (communication) | 7. pretend, profess | state insincerely.; "He professed innocence but later admitted his guilt"; "She pretended not to have known the suicide bomber"; "She pretends to be an expert on wine" |
| ~ claim | assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing.; "He claimed that he killed the burglar" |
| adj. | 8. make-believe, pretend | imagined as in a play.; "the make-believe world of theater"; "play money"; "dangling their legs in the water to catch pretend fish" |
| ~ unreal | lacking in reality or substance or genuineness; not corresponding to acknowledged facts or criteria.; "ghosts and other unreal entities"; "unreal propaganda serving as news" |
| sham | | |
| n. (artifact) | 1. fake, postiche, sham | something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be. |
| ~ fake book | a fake in the form of an imitation book; used to fill bookcases of people who wish to appear scholarly. |
| ~ imitation | something copied or derived from an original. |
| ~ potemkin village | something that seems impressive but in fact lacks substance. |
| n. (person) | 2. fake, faker, fraud, imposter, impostor, pretender, pseud, pseudo, role player, sham, shammer | a person who makes deceitful pretenses. |
| ~ beguiler, cheater, deceiver, trickster, cheat, slicker | someone who leads you to believe something that is not true. |
| ~ name dropper | someone who pretends that famous people are his/her friends. |
| ~ ringer | a contestant entered in a competition under false pretenses. |
| v. (creation) | 3. assume, feign, sham, simulate | make a pretence of.; "She assumed indifference, even though she was seething with anger"; "he feigned sleep" |
| ~ pretend, dissemble, act | behave unnaturally or affectedly.; "She's just acting" |
| ~ play | pretend to be somebody in the framework of a game or playful activity.; "Let's play like I am mommy"; "Play cowboy and Indians" |
| ~ feint | deceive by a mock action.; "The midfielder feinted to shoot" |
| adj. | 4. assumed, false, fictitious, fictive, pretended, put on, sham | adopted in order to deceive.; "an assumed name"; "an assumed cheerfulness"; "a fictitious address"; "fictive sympathy"; "a pretended interest"; "a put-on childish voice"; "sham modesty" |
| ~ counterfeit, imitative | not genuine; imitating something superior.; "counterfeit emotion"; "counterfeit money"; "counterfeit works of art"; "a counterfeit prince" |
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