Pretender
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /pɹɪˈtɛndəɹ/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Pretender is a noun meaning A person who professes beliefs and opinions that they do not hold.
Meaning
A person who professes beliefs and opinions that they do not hold.
More Meanings
- (uncommon) To tender (a bid, etc.) in advance.
- One who puts forth a claim, or who aspires to or aims at something; a claimant, candidate, or aspirant; now, one who makes baseless pretensions.
- One who pretends or lays claim to something; one who makes a profession, show, or assertion, especially without adequate grounds, falsely, or with intent to deceive; a dissembler, deceiver, charlatan, hypocrite.
- (obsolete, rare) One who intends or purposes.
Example Sentences
Pretensor, a pretender, he that purposeth.
Pretendente, a pretendent, a pretender, an intender, a meaner.
Every one is a pretender and a runner; but few carry the prize.
A candidate for a school at Brewood in Staffordshire; to which, I think, there are seventeen pretenders.
Word Forms
- pretenders
- pretendering
- pretendered
Synonyms for pretender
Depending on context, synonyms include dissembler, flip-flopper, hypocrite, phony, bamboozler, bouncer.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include pseud, impostor, pseudo, imposter, faker, fake.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.