as in fraud
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
it turns out that the guy who claimed to work for a modeling agency was just a pretender
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pretender
The Bruins – and, yes, with their fair share of good luck – made their guests look like pretenders.
—
Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 8 Feb. 2024
In Saturday's game at Arizona (1:30 p.m., FOX) ASU has the chance to do something it's done only once before this century: go undefeated in November, the month in which good teams separate themselves from early-season pretenders.
—Matthew Self, The Arizona Republic, 26 Nov. 2024
Other pretender brands like Stellantis’s DS, and Hyundai’s Genesis look to be fighting a losing battle.
—Neil Winton, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024
Those few Knights of the Round Table who remain are third-tier heroes, clinging to a past that is already washing out to sea, while various pretenders to the throne vye for power.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pretender 
Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 8 Feb. 2024
In Saturday's game at Arizona (1:30 p.m., FOX) ASU has the chance to do something it's done only once before this century: go undefeated in November, the month in which good teams separate themselves from early-season pretenders.
—Matthew Self, The Arizona Republic, 26 Nov. 2024
Other pretender brands like Stellantis’s DS, and Hyundai’s Genesis look to be fighting a losing battle.
—Neil Winton, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024
Those few Knights of the Round Table who remain are third-tier heroes, clinging to a past that is already washing out to sea, while various pretenders to the throne vye for power.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pretender
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretender
Noun
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The fraud complaint indicated that voter registration cards were altered.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
28 Jan. 2025
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But the directive did appear to cover Pell grants, housing vouchers, and such disparate programs as Medicaid fraud prevention and gun safety services.—
Seth Klamann,
The Denver Post,
28 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Travel fakes like this appear to be on the uptick in 2025.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA TODAY,
17 Jan. 2025
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The truth became impossible to distill: Musk's vaunted Community Notes system was like a Band-Aid on a bullet hole, as reports of water shortages — some real, some fake — exploded into partisan blame games.—
Axios,
Axios,
10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Thankfully, the courts have seen through these shams, and in eighteen days, the jig will finally be up.—
Kevin Lynn,
Newsweek,
8 Jan. 2025
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The president – former President Trump's nominee for Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has called this issue of extremism in the military a sham, suggesting that perhaps some of the efforts to end – to combat extremism are going to end.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Jan. 2025
Noun
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However, Macy's Santa is supposed to be the real Santa, so the department store wanted to cut the famous scene where Buddy finds out about the impostor.—
Kaycee Sloan,
The Enquirer,
2 Dec. 2024
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Nearly 600,000 reports of impostor schemes, including romance scams, were received by FTC officials this year, with losses exceeding $2.1 billion.—
Tom Rogers,
Newsweek,
26 Dec. 2024
Noun
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One who comes to her full power when she is exiled by a charlatan, by a cruel leader.—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
26 Nov. 2024
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The good, sincere members would flourish and the charlatans, the folks who over-promise to their constituents, would not.—
Gary Franks,
Boston Herald,
20 Jan. 2024
Noun
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Gould observed that Jerry Falwell had taken up the mountebank’s mission of William Jennings Bryan.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
26 July 2024
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Now, this pallid Color Purple epitomizes the artistic dearth of an era when a cultural mountebank like Winfrey uses race and feminist guile to cheat us of America’s most creative achievements.—
Armond White,
National Review,
3 Jan. 2024
Noun
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Amy's every interaction is loaded with dramatic irony, but the audience isn't in a good spot knowing that her teenage daughter actually hates her or that the new chief of internal medicine is a quack who killed a patient.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA TODAY,
8 Jan. 2025
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The nomination to any responsible position of quacks like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo would put her to that test.—
Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards,
Orlando Sentinel,
11 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Pretender.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretender. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
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