Synonyms of pretended

pretended 1 of 2

adjective

pri-ˈten-dəd 

1

as in mock

lacking in natural or spontaneous quality

he shows a pretended affection for his girlfriend's cat

Synonyms & Similar Words

• mock
• strained
• fake
• false
• assumed
• unnatural
• affected
• forced
• simulated
• exaggerated
• feigned
• mechanical
• pseudo
• contrived
• artificial
• phoney
• plastic
• sham
• phony
• bogus
• cute
• spurious
• factitious
• theatrical
• put-on
• calculated
• hollow
• theatric
• empty
• unreal
• manufactured
• pat
• deliberate
• automatic
• labored
• fabricated
• concocted
• formal
• hypocritical
• unrealistic
• stiff
• canned
• conscious
• insincere
• cultivated
• wooden
• studied
• unauthentic
• conventional
• facile
• hokey
• unctuous
• melodramatic
• mealy
• two-faced
• rigid
• premeditated
• histrionic
• impersonal
• mincing
• mealymouthed
• stylized
• overacted
• double-dealing
• simpering
• genteel
• cutesy
• left-handed
• overdone
• overrefined
• artful
• inflexible
• goody-goody

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• genuine
• real
• unaffected
• spontaneous
• true
• natural
• right
• artless
• authentic
• bona fide
• realistic
• sincere
• honest
• unfeigned
• easy
• ingenuous
• unforced
• uncontrived
• smooth
• unconscious
• effortless
• impromptu
• instinctive
• unpretending
• impulsive
• extemporaneous
• unprompted
• unrehearsed
• unstudied

2

as in fake

not being or expressing what one appears to be or express

hoped that his pretended interest in classical music would impress the boss

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fake
• double
• assumed
• feigned
• strained
• lip
• meaningless
• hollow
• superficial
• hypocritical
• phoney
• counterfeit
• artificial
• insincere
• phony
• backhanded
• forced
• mechanical
• pious
• affected
• false
• unctuous
• jive
• unnatural
• contrived
• mealy
• double-dealing
• two-faced
• phoney-baloney
• empty
• phony-baloney
• double-faced
• mealymouthed
• simulated
• Pecksniffian
• dishonest
• Janus-faced
• left-handed
• sham
• deceitful
• put-on
• glib
• untruthful
• bogus
• devious
• facile
• claptrap
• facetious
• sanctimonious
• tongue-in-cheek
• jocular
• canting
• pharisaical
• campy
• simon-pure
• self-righteous

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• genuine
• sincere
• honest
• unfeigned
• candid
• artless
• heartfelt
• open
• plain
• direct
• frank
• undesigning
• straightforward
• forthright
• heart-to-heart

pretended

2 of 2

verb

past tense of pretend

1

as in posed

to take on a false or deceptive appearance

I pretended that I didn't care that my ex had a new man in her life

Synonyms & Similar Words

• posed
• acted
• assumed
• played
• faked
• made believe
• made a show
• dissembled
• let on
• simulated
• dissimulated
• concealed
• masqueraded
• made a pretense
• professed
• made out
• disguised
• feigned
• put on an act
• impersonated
• put up a front
• masked
• affected
• camouflaged
• shammed
• counterfeited
• bluffed
• put on
• playacted
• feinted

2

as in assumed

to present a false appearance of

as if I would ever pretend illness just to take off a day from work

Synonyms & Similar Words

• assumed
• simulated
• acted
• feigned
• professed
• affected
• passed (for)
• made believe
• faked
• shammed
• bluffed
• dissembled
• concealed
• posed
• counterfeited
• forged
• put on
• played
• imitated
• masqueraded
• impersonated
• disguised
• camouflaged
• let on
• masked
• dissimulated
• feinted
• playacted
• malingered

Examples of pretended in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The woman is long gone, so Freer has to imagine her consent — in a history so full of gaps, coercion, and disappearance, a pretended connection is better than none at all. —Helen Shaw, Vulture, 28 Mar. 2022

What most activates Dunn’s rage is the misogyny that only deepened amid all the pretended freedoms of the counterculture. —Sam Sacks, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2022

No, seriously: People were very upset by these shoes, or at least pretended to be. —Heather Wilhelm, National Review, 31 Aug. 2017