pretending
NounWordNet 3.0
Noun (1)
- the act of giving a false appearance“his conformity was only pretending”Synonyms: pretensepretencesimulationfeigning
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Pretend \Pre*tend"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pretended; p. pr. & vb. n. Pretending.] [OE. pretenden to lay claim to, F. pr['e]tendre, L. praetendere, praetentum, to stretch forward, pretend, simulate, assert; prae before + tendere to stretch. See Tend, v. t. ]
1.To lay a claim to; to allege a title to; to claim. [1913 Webster]
Chiefs shall be grudged the part which they pretend.— Dryden.[1913 Webster]
2.To hold before, or put forward, as a cloak or disguise for something else; to exhibit as a veil for something hidden. [R.] [1913 Webster]
Lest that too heavenly form, pretended To hellish falsehood, snare them.— Milton.[1913 Webster]
3.To hold out, or represent, falsely; to put forward, or offer, as true or real (something untrue or unreal); to show hypocritically, or for the purpose of deceiving; to simulate; to feign; as, to pretend friendship. [1913 Webster]
This let him know, Lest, willfully transgressing, he pretend Surprisal.— Milton.[1913 Webster]
4.To intend; to design; to plot; to attempt. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
Such as shall pretend Malicious practices against his state.— Shak.[1913 Webster]
5.To hold before one; to extend. [Obs.] "His target always over her pretended." --Spenser. [1913 Webster]