pretender
/pɹɪˈtɛndəɹ/noun, verb
pretender is spelled P-R-E-T-E-N-D-E-R: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pretender means “One who puts forth a claim, or who aspires to or aims at something; a claimant, candidate, or aspirant; now, one who makes baseless pretensions” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pretender is pretenders.
How many letters and syllables are in pretender?
| Letters | 9: P-R-E-T-E-N-D-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,998th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pretender?
Pretender appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pretender?
- /pɹɪˈtɛndəɹ/
Pretender has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pretender.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pretender
- pretenders plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- pretendering participle, present
- pretendered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pretender mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
obsoleterareOne who intends or purposes.
- 2
One who puts forth a claim, or who aspires to or aims at something; a claimant, candidate, or aspirant; now, one who makes baseless pretensions.
- 3
obsoleteOne who aspires to the hand of a woman in marriage; a suitor, a wooer.
- 4
A claimant to a throne or the office of a ruler; originally in a neutral sense, but now always applied to a claimant who is held to have no just title.
- 5
One who pretends or lays claim to something; one who makes a profession, show, or assertion, especially without adequate grounds, falsely, or with intent to deceive; a dissembler, deceiver, charlatan, hypocrite.
- 6
A person who professes beliefs and opinions that they do not hold.
verb
- 1
To tender (a bid, etc.) in advance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pretender in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Beansprucher, Ansprucherheber, Prätendent , Vortäuscher, Schwindler, Betrüger |
| French | imposteur, imposteuse , prétendant, prétendante |
| Spanish | embustero, grupiento, aparentador , pretendiente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pretender come from?
From pretend + -er.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).