pretended

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It’s been widely reported that in the ’80s and ’90s, Trump sometimes pretended to be his own publicist, John Barron, when talking to reporters.

From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026

“He looks like Eliot Ness,” the president declared of his veep in a televised Cabinet meeting in May while high-level administration officials pretended to laugh.

From Salon • Jun. 5, 2026

I nodded, but I’d have been lying if I said I hadn’t come for the lynx—or pretended that the distant views through the scope on day one had been entirely satisfying.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026

“We tried to have a baby and we tried to have a baby and when my parents and sister and friends asked I pretended I didn’t want one,” Khong writes.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

It was the sort of thing she'd seen in one of the Marvellian vintage catalogs Mama pretended not to order from—Victoria Valerino’s Vintage Vanguard.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton