[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

pretend \pretend"\, v. t. imp.  p. p. pretended; p. pr. 
   vb. n. pretending. oe. pretenden to lay claim to, f.
   pr'etendre, 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
see also:
pretended pretending tend 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

pretend \pretend"\, v. i.
   1. to put in, or make, a claim, truly or falsely; to allege a
      title; to lay claim to, or strive after, something; --
      usually with to. "countries that pretend to freedom."
      --swift.
      1913 webster

            for to what fine he would anon pretend,
            that know i well.                     --chaucer.
      1913 webster

   2. to hold out the appearance of being, possessing, or
      performing; to profess; to make believe; to feign; to
      sham; as, to pretend to be asleep. "he pretended to
      drink the waters." --macaulay.
      1913 webster

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

pretend
     adj : imagined as in a play; "the make-believe world of theater";
           "play money"; "dangling their legs in the water to
           catch pretend fish" syn: make-believe
     n : the enactment of a pretense; "it was just pretend" syn: make-believe
     v 1: make believe with the intent to deceive; "he feigned that he
          was ill"; "he shammed a headache" syn: feign, sham,
           affect, dissemble
     2: behave unnaturally or affectedly; "she's just acting" syn:
        dissemble, act
     3: put forward a claim and assert right or possession of;
        "pretend the title of king"
     4: 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" syn:
         guess, venture, hazard
     5: represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or
        act like; "she makes like an actress" syn: make, make
        believe
     6: 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"
        syn: profess
see also:
make-believe feign sham affect dissemble act 
guess venture hazard make make believe 
profess 

[4] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

78 moby thesaurus words for "pretend":
   act, act a part, adopt, affect, aim to, allege, appropriate,
   arrogate, assume, attempt, attempt to, avow, bluff, challenge,
   claim, counterfeit, cover up, dare, dare to, dissemble,
   dissimulate, do a bit, dramatize, encroach, endeavor, fake, feign,
   four-flush, gammon, hazard, histrionize, infringe, invade,
   lay claim to, let on, let on like, make a pretense, make as if,
   make believe, make bold, make free, make like, make out,
   make out like, overact, play, play god, play a part, play a scene,
   play possum, playact, presume, pretend to, pretext, profess,
   protest too much, purport, put on, put on airs, represent, seek to,
   seize, sham, simulate, strive to, study to, take over,
   take the liberty, trespass, try, try and, try to,
   tug the heartstrings, undertake, usurp, venture, venture to,
   wear

Pretend >> P Words
Pretend, definition of term: Pretend
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