pretend to (something)

idiom

formal

: to claim that one has (something, such as a quality or ability)

She pretends to a deep religious devotion, but I don't believe her.

—usually used in negative statements

I don't pretend to any expertise in these matters.

Examples of pretend to (something) in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

To add to the fun, adult family members and sometimes even schoolteachers don fearsome demon masks and pretend to terrorize the neighborhood. —

Matt Ralphs, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Oct. 2024 Nothing holds back computer scientists from developing talking machines that pretend to be humans. —

Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024 The hackers behind the fake CAPTCHA attack have also circulated it through phishing emails that pretend to come from GitHub, a popular platform for software developers to host and share projects. —

Michael Kan, PCMAG, 23 Sep. 2024 This could mean that predators may pose as children or children may pretend to be older to get around age restrictions. —

Kate Irwin, PCMAG, 8 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pretend to (something)

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“Pretend to (something).” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pretend%20to%20%28something%29. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.

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