{
    "term": "pretend",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "b1",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "pretend",
            "heSheIt": "pretends"
        },
        "pastSimple": "pretended",
        "pastParticiple": "pretended",
        "ingForm": "pretending"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "to behave in a particular way, in order to make other people believe something that is not true",
            "sensetop": "pretend to somebody that…pretend (that)…pretend to do somethingpretend something",
            "labels": "(formal)",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I'm tired of having to pretend all the time."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Of course I was wrong; it would be hypocritical to **pretend otherwise**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He pretended to his family that everything was fine.",
                    "contextForm": "pretend to somebody that…"
                },
                {
                    "text": "We pretended (that) nothing had happened.",
                    "contextForm": "pretend (that)…"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She pretended (that) she was his niece."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I pretended to be asleep.",
                    "contextForm": "pretend to do something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He pretended not to notice."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She didn't love him, though she pretended to."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She pretended an interest she did not feel."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Maria knew he was only pretending."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I can't go on pretending any longer."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Couldn't you at least pretend to enjoy it?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "It would be foolish to pretend that there are no risks involved."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's useless to pretend that we might still win."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He pretended to his boss that he'd written the article."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Personal qualities"],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["otherwise", "at least", "just"],
                "verb + pretend": ["can no longer", "try to", "be dishonest to"],
                "preposition": ["to"],
                "phrases": ["go on pretending", "just pretending", "only pretending"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "to imagine that something is true as part of a game",
            "sensetop": "pretend (that)…",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "They didn't have any real money so they had to pretend."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Let’s pretend (that) we’re astronauts.",
                    "contextForm": "pretend (that)…"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "to claim to be, do or have something, especially when this is not true",
            "sensetop": "pretend to somethingpretend (that)…pretend to be/do/have something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I can't pretend to any great musical talent.",
                    "contextForm": "pretend to something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I don’t pretend (that) I know much about the subject, but…",
                    "contextForm": "pretend (that)…"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The book doesn't pretend to be a great work of literature.",
                    "contextForm": "pretend to be/do/have something"
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/prɪˈtend/",
                "audio": "pr/pretend/pretend__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/prɪˈtendz/",
                "audio": "pr/pretend/pretends__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/prɪˈtendɪd/",
                "audio": "pr/pretend/pretended__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/prɪˈtendɪŋ/",
                "audio": "pr/pretend/pretending__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/prɪˈtend/",
                "audio": "pr/pretend/pretend__us_4.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/prɪˈtendz/",
                "audio": "pr/pretend/pretends__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/prɪˈtendɪd/",
                "audio": "pr/pretend/pretended__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/prɪˈtendɪŋ/",
                "audio": "pr/pretend/pretending__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "late Middle English: from Latin praetendere ‘stretch forth, claim’, from prae ‘before’ + tendere ‘stretch’. The adjective dates from the early 20th cent."
}