# pretender

> English word · Noun · IPA /pɹɪˈtɛndəɹ/ · frequency rank #37,168

## Definitions
1. One 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. 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.
4. 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.
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.

## Etymology
From pretend + -er.

## Easily confused with
- **pretense** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pretender-vs-pretense)
- **pretenders** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pretender-vs-pretenders)
- **pretend** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pretend-vs-pretender)
- **pretence** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pretence-vs-pretender)
- **presenter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/presenter-vs-pretender)
- **pretended** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pretended-vs-pretender)

## Common misspellings (14)
`pertender`, `ppretender`, `preetnder`, `pretedner`, `pretendder`, `pretenderr`, `pretendre`, `pretenedr`, `pretennder`, `pretneder`, `prettender`, `prretender`, `prteender`, `rpetender`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/pretender