Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (v. t.) To lay a claim to; to allege a title to; to claim. 2. (v. t.) To hold before, or put forward, as a cloak or disguise for something else; to exhibit as a veil for something hidden. 3. (v. t.) 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. 4. (v. t.) To intend; to design; to plot; to attempt. 5. (v. t.) To hold before one; to extend. 6. (v. i.) To put in, or make, a claim, truly or falsely; to allege a title; to lay claim to, or strive after, something; -- usually with to. 7. (v. i.) To hold out the appearance of being, possessing, or performing; to profess; to make believe; to feign; to sham; as, to pretend to be asleep.

Multi-Version Concordance Pretend (9 Occurrences) 2 Samuel 13:5 Jonadab said to him, "Lay down on your bed, and pretend to be sick. When your father comes to see you, tell him,'Please let my sister Tamar come and give me bread to eat, and dress the food in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it from her hand.'" (WEB NAS RSV NIV) 2 Samuel 14:2 Joab sent to Tekoa, and fetched there a wise woman, and said to her, "Please act like a mourner, and put on mourning clothing, please, and don't anoint yourself with oil, but be as a woman who has mourned a long time for the dead. (See NAS RSV NIV) 2 Samuel 22:45 The foreigners will submit themselves to me. As soon as they hear of me, they will obey me. (See NAS) 1 Kings 14:5 Yahweh said to Ahijah, "Behold, the wife of Jeroboam comes to inquire of you concerning her son; for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall tell her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman." (WEB NAS RSV NIV) 1 Kings 14:6 It was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, "Come in, you wife of Jeroboam! Why do you pretend to be another? For I am sent to you with heavy news. (WEB NAS RSV) Psalms 81:15 The haters of Yahweh would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever. (See NAS) Proverbs 12:9 He who is of low position and has a servant, is better than one who has a high opinion of himself and is in need of bread. (See NIV) Proverbs 13:7 There are some who pretend to be rich, yet have nothing. There are some who pretend to be poor, yet have great wealth. (WEB JPS NAS RSV NIV) Proverbs 18:24 There are friends who may be a man's destruction, but there is a lover who keeps nearer than a brother. (See RSV)