as in fraud
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
it turns out that the guy who claimed to work for a modeling agency was just a pretender
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pretender
Carter noted that City Hall office workers will return to their cubicles three days per week as of April 1.
Related Articles
Contenders or pretenders?
—
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 26 Mar. 2025
Every decision carries weight, and in a league where the line between contender and pretender is razor-thin, there’s little room for error.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2025
The only saving grace for City is that there is no clear pretender to take its place as the top dog in English soccer.
—Joe Prince-Wright, Nbc Sports, NBC News, 20 Dec. 2024
Ball could be that piece to turn the Rockets from pretenders to contenders.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for pretender
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 26 Mar. 2025
Every decision carries weight, and in a league where the line between contender and pretender is razor-thin, there’s little room for error.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2025
The only saving grace for City is that there is no clear pretender to take its place as the top dog in English soccer.
—Joe Prince-Wright, Nbc Sports, NBC News, 20 Dec. 2024
Ball could be that piece to turn the Rockets from pretenders to contenders.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for pretender
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretender
Noun
-
The man who brought up the accusation of welfare fraud, who admitted to working for Alite's former boss John Gotti Jr., left the room, leaving a packet of handouts on a seat on his way out.—
Olivia Liu,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2025
-
Trump wants Chris Krebs, former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, to be investigated for declaring, after careful study of the 2020 election, that there was no election fraud.—
Tom Zirpoli,
Baltimore Sun,
22 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
White has a knack to get to the foul line with creative fakes.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
15 Apr. 2025
-
Historically, trade restrictions drive up the cost of authentic goods, creating the perfect conditions for counterfeiters to flood the market with cheaper, harder-to-detect fakes, according to Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder and CEO of Entrupy, an authentication service.—
Jessica Dickler,
CNBC,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
There are plenty of superhero properties out there that fall into the trap of having their antagonists do something heinous to prove that their otherwise just reasons are a sham, but surely in this case, if Maximus (Iwan Rheon) hadn’t staged a coup, another of the Inhuman subjects would’ve. 23.—
Nola Pfau,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2025
-
The sunny set includes a quilt in twin/twin XL, full/queen, and king sizes and matching shams to create a cohesive look in your space.—
Megan Schaltegger,
Better Homes & Gardens,
12 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
These kinds of supportive environments can reduce impostor feelings and create space for growth.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Once hired, the impostor can install malware to demand ransom from a company, or steal its customer data, trade secrets or funds, according to Balasubramaniyan.—
Hugh Son,
CNBC,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Death at the hands of charlatans is not an inspiring storyline, which means publishers and film studios studiously avoid it.—
Alan Levinovitz,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
28 Feb. 2025
-
No, the danger is what those charlatans exploit, namely our vulnerability to the narrative of natural healing, the irresistible allure of conquering cancer with a simple, intuitive approach that lies entirely within our power, no chemo or surgery required.—
Alan Levinovitz,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
With tariffs on pharmaceuticals, the mountebank of Mar-A-Lago wants to punish a small democracy of 5.3 million people that for the past 60 years has worked its way into the top table of drug research and production: Ireland.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
29 Mar. 2025
-
Gould observed that Jerry Falwell had taken up the mountebank’s mission of William Jennings Bryan.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
26 July 2024
Noun
-
Famous athlete revealed as Fuzzy Peas on Masked Singer while Ken Jeong shocks with Lord Farquaad look on wild Shrek Night With a final dramatic flourish of his cape and a quack, Lucky Duck departed, and it was revealed that Coral would be joining Paparazzo in the final six.—
Lauren Huff,
EW.com,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Milla — a young woman who feels disillusioned by doctors that treat her like a recalcitrant child, directing even conversations about her treatment to her father instead of her — finds false security in quacks selling enemas and juice cleanses.—
Angie Han,
The Hollywood Reporter,
5 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pretender.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretender. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share