How to Use pretend to (something) in a Sentence

pretend to (something)

idiom
Definition of pretend to (something)next
  • Or pretend to not hear the question and change the subject.
    — Haben Kelati, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2023
  • Watch Matthias pretend to play along in time with the church band and his father's preaching.
    — Carissa Quiambao, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2023
  • During the day, Taylen would grab anyone's phone and pretend to call his mom.
    — Tristan Balagtas, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2023
  • The film revolves around a non-couple who have to pretend to be a couple?
    — Emma Specter, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2023
  • Some called in sick, too sleep-deprived and overwhelmed by news to even pretend to work.
    — Bryn Stole | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, 4 Nov. 2020
  • The best way to pretend to be a human chatting is to fine-tune on human chat logs.
    — Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 1 Dec. 2023
  • As far as Dusty knows, the girls are going to pretend to go to the dance and just drive south with a trunk full o’ snacks instead.
    — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 15 May 2024
  • Others want to take an adorable paw or floppy ear and pretend to eat it.
    — Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 21 Feb. 2024
  • Some may rush to bed quickly and pretend to be asleep when their partner comes.
    — Sara Kuburic, USA TODAY, 26 Jan. 2023
  • What Mercy is meant to do about it, Expats does not pretend to know.
    — Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2024
  • Someone can steal your old username and pretend to be you.
    — Kim Komando, USA TODAY, 25 Dec. 2022
  • The poster is advised to tell their wife to remove the bike battery and pretend to have a nonelectric bike.
    — Curbed, 30 Aug. 2023
  • There are a lot of ways to help your kid pretend to vacuum, but this one is a bit complex for its own good.
    — Martin Cizmar, WIRED, 20 Dec. 2023
  • Boring doesn’t sell, and the Yankees cannot even pretend to be pushing for a pennant.
    — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2023
  • James was sitting in a room for nine hours having to pretend to be reading a script, that is rare and that is special.
    — Charna Flam, Variety, 5 May 2023
  • This steam is then used to turn an electric turbine (don't pretend to be surprised).
    — Rhett Allain, Wired, 10 Nov. 2020
  • There’s always been a market for people who pretend to know the future.
    — John Jennings, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
  • Also, a drug dealer is a bad guy, but a drug dealer doesn’t pretend to be anything but a bad guy.
    — Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Aug. 2023
  • Taylor likens Emma to the historic figure and says that boys would change their ways (or pretend to, anyway) for the chance to be with her.
    — Samantha Olson, Seventeen, 7 July 2023
  • There's a Sendik's grocery store with play food, play money and a play cash register for kids to pretend to shop.
    — Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 22 July 2024
  • Did some people only pretend to like him because of his dad?
    — Ryan D'agostino, Men's Health, 14 Mar. 2023
  • Okay, so she’s...being paid by an 19-year-old’s parents to pretend to be his girlfriend and bring him out of his shell in exchange for a car?
    — Emma Specter, Vogue, 10 Mar. 2023
  • Nothing else moves, although the dancing lilies pretend to.
    — Zuyi Zhao, The New York Review of Books, 16 Mar. 2023
  • The scammers often call a victim and pretend to be a loved one in distress, asking them to send money.
    — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 7 Mar. 2023
  • Ripa asked, which prompted Jonathan to stand up from his chair and pretend to pull down his pants, with Drew following his lead.
    — Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 17 May 2024
  • Polley, her collaborators and her cast don’t pretend to have the answers any more than the book did or most of us do.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Dec. 2022
  • Hoping to avoid questions about his love life, Peter asks his best friend, Nick, to come home with him for the holidays and pretend to be his boyfriend.
    — Leah Campano, Seventeen, 5 Dec. 2022
  • Don't forget to make s'mores (or at least pretend to make s'mores with Fisher-Price's pretend camping set).
    — Marisa Lascala, Good Housekeeping, 27 Dec. 2022
  • One is so rude just entering the shop that the braiders, usually hungry for business, pretend to be booked.
    — Jesse Green, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2023
  • Scammers may hack your contacts’ accounts and pretend to be a friend or acquaintance who’s selling tickets.
    — Cheryl V. Jackson, The Indianapolis Star, 12 July 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pretend to (something).' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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