pretend

Definitions

pre- (before, in front) + tend (stretch) = "to stretch something out in front." Imagine holding up a painted screen between yourself and others — they see the front you've stretched out, not what's behind it. That "display put out front" became the modern sense: to put on a false show, to feign.

Why It Means This

Pretend comes from Latin praetendere, "to stretch out in front." Originally it meant literally to hold something forward as a screen or claim. The modern meaning keeps the picture: when you pretend, you stretch a false front out between the truth and your audience. The same image gives us pretense and pretension — the fronts themselves.

Common Collocations

• 1.pretend to be假装是……
• 2.pretend not to notice假装没注意到
• 3.let's pretend我们来假装……
• 4.pretend otherwise假装不是这样

Example Sentences

• 1.

  He pretended not to notice the mess in the kitchen.

• 2.

  The kids love to pretend they're pirates on a ship.

• 3.

  Let's pretend we never had this conversation.