A Pretender to the Throne Was Making a Claim
To pretend is to act as if something is true when it is not. The older sense is to put forward a claim, which is what a royal pretender did.
To pretend is to behave as though something is the case when it is not. The Latin *praetendere* means to stretch forward, hence to put something forward as a claim. That is the sense in *pretender to the throne*: a claimant, not necessarily a fraud, whatever the winning side later said about him.
- To act as if something is true. *Pretend you did not hear.*
- To claim falsely. *He does not pretend to be an expert.*
- Pretender — a claimant to a title. *The Old Pretender.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | pretend | Pretend to sleep. |
| Past | pretended | She pretended not to mind. |
| Noun | pretence | Under false pretences. |
| American | pretense | A thin pretense. |
| Person | pretender | A royal pretender. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Children pretend for hours at a time.Imaginative play.
- He obtained money under false pretences.A legal formula.
- I do not pretend to understand it.Meaning I make no such claim.
Degrees of not telling the truth
- Pretend — act as if, often harmlessly
- Feign — simulate deliberately, usually a feeling or illness
- Bluff — pretend strength you do not have
- Deceive — cause someone to believe something false
- Impersonate — pretend to be a specific person
From Latin *praetendere*, to stretch forward or put forward, from *prae* and *tendere*, to stretch — the same root as *tend*, *tension* and *extend*.
Who were the Old and Young Pretender?
James Francis Edward Stuart and his son Charles Edward Stuart, claimants to the British throne in the eighteenth century.
Pretence or pretense?
Pretence in British English, pretense in American. Both mean a false show.