different between pretend vs phony
pretend
English
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman pretendre, Middle French pretendre (French prétendre (“to claim, demand”)), from Latin praetendere, present active infinitive of praetend? (“put forward, hold out, pretend”), from prae- (“pre-”) + tend? (“stretch”); see tend.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /p???t?nd/
- Rhymes: -?nd
- Hyphenation: pre?tend
Verb
pretend (third-person singular simple present pretends, present participle pretending, simple past and past participle pretended)
- To claim, to allege, especially when falsely or as a form of deliberate deception. [from 14th c.]
- 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, XVIII.23:
- "After what past at Upton, so soon to engage in a new amour with another woman, while I fancied, and you pretended, your heart was bleeding for me!"
- 2009 April 13, “Vanity publishing”, in The Economist:
- I have nothing but contempt for people who hire ghost-writers. But at least most faux authors have the decency to pretend that they are sweating blood over "their" book.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, XVIII.23:
- To feign, affect (a state, quality, etc.). [from 15th c.]
- 2007 October 29, The Guardian, London:
- Gap and other clothes manufacturers should stop using small subcontractors because they are difficult to control. Instead, they should open up their own fully-owned production facilities so that they cannot pretend ignorance when abuses are committed.
- 2007 October 29, The Guardian, London:
- To lay claim to (an ability, status, advantage, etc.). [from 15th c.] (originally used without to)
- 1682, John Dryden, The Medal
- Chiefs shall be grudged the part which they pretend.
- 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.25:
- People observed the diversity of schools and the acerbity of their disputes, and decided that all alike were pretending to knowledge which was in fact unattainable.
- 1682, John Dryden, The Medal
- To make oneself appear to do or be doing something; to engage in make-believe.
- 2003 January 23, Duncan Campbell, The Guardian, London:
- Luster claimed that the women had consented to sex and were only pretending to be asleep.
- 2003 January 23, Duncan Campbell, The Guardian, London:
- (transitive, obsolete) To hold before, or put forward, as a cloak or disguise for something else; to exhibit as a veil for something hidden.
- (transitive, obsolete) To intend; to design, to plot; to attempt.
- (transitive, obsolete) To hold before one; to extend.
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, VI.11:
- Pastorella […] Was by the Captaine all this while defended, / Who, minding more her safety then himselfe, / His target alwayes over her pretended […].
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, VI.11:
Usage notes
This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs
Related terms
- pretender
- pretense
- pretension
- pretentious
- pretentiousness
Translations
Further reading
- pretend in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- pretend in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
Adjective
pretend (not comparable)
- Not really what it is represented as being; imaginary, feigned.
- As children we used to go on "spying" missions around the neighbour's house, but it was all pretend.
Translations
pretend From the web:
- what pretending to be crazy looks like
- what pretending to be crazy looks like reddit
- what pretending to be crazy looks like reaction
- what pretend means
- what pretending to be crazy looks like shooter
- what pretending to be crazy looks like guy
- what pretend games to play
- what pretending looks like
phony
English
Alternative forms
- phoney (British)
Etymology
Perhaps an alteration of fawney (“gilt brass ring used by swindlers”) (1781), from Irish fáinne (“ring”).
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /?fo?ni/
- Rhymes: -??ni
Adjective
phony (comparative phonier, superlative phoniest)
- (informal) Fraudulent; fake; having a misleading appearance.
Synonyms
- (fraudulent): bogus, counterfeit, fake
- See also Thesaurus:fake
Antonyms
- authentic
- genuine
Derived terms
- phoniness
- phoneyness
- phony as a three-dollar bill
Translations
Noun
phony (plural phonies)
- (informal) A person who assumes an identity or quality other than their own.
- (informal) A person who professes beliefs or opinions that they do not hold.
- (informal) Anything fraudulent or fake.
- 2013, John E. Douglas, Ann W. Burgess, Allen G. Burgess, Crime Classification Manual (page 131)
- One name was a phony, but the other was the true name. The clerk remembered the man who had filed the tags since he acquired two sets of plates with different names.
- 2013, John E. Douglas, Ann W. Burgess, Allen G. Burgess, Crime Classification Manual (page 131)
Synonyms
- (faker): dissembler, pretender, fake, faker
Derived terms
- phony up, phoney up
- Phony War, Phoney War
Translations
Verb
phony (third-person singular simple present phonies, present participle phonying, simple past and past participle phonied)
- To fake.
Anagrams
- hypno-
phony From the web:
- what phony means
- what phony dog poop
- what .phony means in makefile
- what's phony war
- what phony means in spanish
- what's phony-baloney
- phony what does it mean
- phony what rhyme
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