Which to use
“present” is an adjective and “pretend” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #680
- “present” frequency rank
- #4,108
- “pretend” frequency rank
- 4788
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | present | pretend |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Relating to now, for the time being; current. | To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance. |
Where the eye mixes present and pretend
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: present is /ˈpɹɛz.ənt/ while pretend is /pɹəˈtɛnd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4788, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
present is recorded at frequency rank #680, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈpɹɛz.ənt/. pretend is at rank #4,108, tagged as averb, pronounced /pɹəˈtɛnd/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 4788, this pair ranks #517,670 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of present vs pretend
Shared letters: enprt. Private to "present": s. Private to "pretend": d.
"present" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC · "pretend" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "present" and "pretend" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "present" or "pretend"?
What to do next
You've compared "present" and "pretend". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "present" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pretend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #517,670 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "present" and "pretend" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "precept vs present". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.