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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pretender
Just this week alone, there's potential for some of these contenders to fall into the pretender pool.
—
Chase Goodbread, The Tennessean, 20 Nov. 2024
The Bruins – and, yes, with their fair share of good luck – made their guests look like pretenders.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 8 Feb. 2024
In Saturday's game at Arizona (1:30 p.m., FOX) ASU has the chance to do something it's done only once before this century: go undefeated in November, the month in which good teams separate themselves from early-season pretenders.
—Matthew Self, The Arizona Republic, 26 Nov. 2024
Other pretender brands like Stellantis’s DS, and Hyundai’s Genesis look to be fighting a losing battle.
—Neil Winton, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pretender 
Chase Goodbread, The Tennessean, 20 Nov. 2024
The Bruins – and, yes, with their fair share of good luck – made their guests look like pretenders.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 8 Feb. 2024
In Saturday's game at Arizona (1:30 p.m., FOX) ASU has the chance to do something it's done only once before this century: go undefeated in November, the month in which good teams separate themselves from early-season pretenders.
—Matthew Self, The Arizona Republic, 26 Nov. 2024
Other pretender brands like Stellantis’s DS, and Hyundai’s Genesis look to be fighting a losing battle.
—Neil Winton, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pretender
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretender
Noun
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The memorandum also directs the DOJ to engage in prosecutions under laws meant to prevent fraud and criminal conspiracies against the U.S. government.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacramento Bee,
8 Feb. 2025
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Trump and Vice President JD Vance have emphasized that cuts to Social Security and Medicare are largely off the table except for fraud and abuse.—
Ramsey Touchberry,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
8 Feb. 2025
Noun
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But her choice ultimately comes down to a question of authenticity; the rich author is a liar and a fake, while the pickle man is the salt of the earth.—
Jason Bailey,
New York Times,
14 Feb. 2025
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Gabriela Jaquez could be moved with a screen, freshman Kendall Dudley bit on Watkins’ fakes, and Janiah Barker wasn’t disciplined enough to keep track of Watkins’ movement.—
Sabreena Merchant,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The breakdown of democracy in the United States will not give rise to a classic dictatorship in which elections are a sham and the opposition is locked up, exiled, or killed.—
STEVEN LEVITSKY,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Feb. 2025
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The set includes a queen comforter and two matching pillow shams to create a cohesive look in the bedroom.—
Kelsey Fredricks,
Better Homes & Gardens,
26 Jan. 2025
Noun
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In Rankin’s short, Rankin himself plays an impostor posing as the not-so-famous Winnipeg filmmaker Matthew Rankin.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
14 Feb. 2025
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After Elon Musk purchased Twitter and swiftly removed all content moderation, a substantial exodus flowed to weak impostors like BlueSky, Threads, and Mastodon.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
17 Jan. 2025
Noun
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One who comes to her full power when she is exiled by a charlatan, by a cruel leader.—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
26 Nov. 2024
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The good, sincere members would flourish and the charlatans, the folks who over-promise to their constituents, would not.—
Gary Franks,
Boston Herald,
20 Jan. 2024
Noun
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Gould observed that Jerry Falwell had taken up the mountebank’s mission of William Jennings Bryan.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
26 July 2024
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Now, this pallid Color Purple epitomizes the artistic dearth of an era when a cultural mountebank like Winfrey uses race and feminist guile to cheat us of America’s most creative achievements.—
Armond White,
National Review,
3 Jan. 2024
Noun
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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
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Trump’s Insane Clown Posse Cabinet is very close to being filled with a cadre of fools and quacks, goons and thugs.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Pretender.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretender. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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