Pretend (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pretended; p. pr. & vb. n. Pretending.] [OE. pretenden to lay claim to, F. prétendre, L. praetendere, praetentum, to stretch forward, pretend, simulate, assert; prae before + tendere to stretch. See Tend, v. t. ] 1. To lay a claim to; to allege a title to; to claim.
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Chiefs shall be grudged the part which they pretend. Dryden.
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2. To hold before, or put forward, as a cloak or disguise for something else; to exhibit as a veil for something hidden. [R.]
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Lest that too heavenly form, pretended
To hellish falsehood, snare them. Milton.
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3. To hold out, or represent, falsely; to put forward, or offer, as true or real (something untrue or unreal); to show hypocritically, or for the purpose of deceiving; to simulate; to feign; as, to pretend friendship.
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This let him know,
Lest, willfully transgressing, he pretend
Surprisal. Milton.
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4. To intend; to design; to plot; to attempt. [Obs.]
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Such as shall pretend
Malicious practices against his state. Shak.
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5. To hold before one; to extend. [Obs.] “His target always over her pretended.” Spenser.
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