pretender

/pɾɨ.tẽ.ˈdeɾ/

//pɾɨ.tẽ.ˈdeɾ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“pretender” has 14 generated spelling variants in the Portuguese index at frequency #22,429. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,429
frequency rank, Portuguese
1,578
“P” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - ter a intenção de

Corpus desk

Index PT-pretender · pretender · Portuguese

pretender · rank #22,429 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #22,429
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,578
  • PHOTO-FINISH precede

Nearest frequency peer: precede (-3 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pares de rank junto ao íman ortográfico “pretender”

Mesma faixa de raridade: útil se um typo cair num lema vizinho

corpus weight

What this shows “pretender” está entre estes pares FrequencyWords; a profundidade de typo mede-se à parte no gráfico de distância de edição.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

pretender vs prender
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for pretender
PropertyValue
Headwordpretender
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pɾɨ.tẽ.ˈdeɾ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#22,429
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequência do íman ortográfico “pretender”

Da esquerda para a direita: o pouco que carrega a fala diária, depois a cauda longa quase invisível.pretendercai aqui:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Os ticks avançam em logaritmo; cada um é da ordem de dez vezes mais raro. Na mesma faixa de raridade aparecem “precede” (#22,426), “reboque” (#22,438), “pira” (#22,419). Entre 1,578 lemas com “P”, “pretender” fica em #22,429. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around pretender (IPA /pɾɨ.tẽ.ˈdeɾ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #22,429 among 1,578 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for pretender, with forms such as "pertender", "ppretender", and "preetnder". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "prender", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct Portuguese form is pretender, spelled P-R-E-T-E-N-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    ter a intenção de
  2. 2
    tencionar
  3. 3
    desejar
  4. 4
    solicitar
  5. 5
    intentar
  6. 6
    aspirar

This word in other languages

intend(English)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pertender
  • ppretender
  • preetnder
  • pretedner
  • pretendder
  • pretenderr
  • pretendre
  • pretenedr
  • pretennder
  • pretneder
  • prettender
  • prretender
  • prteender
  • rpetender

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pretender - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

pertender2ppretender1preetnder2pretedner2pretendder1pretenderr1pretendre2pretenedr2
Edit distance from "pretender"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pretender"?
"pretender" is spelled P-R-E-T-E-N-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /pɾɨ.tẽ.ˈdeɾ/.
What does "pretender" mean?
As a verb, "pretender" means: ter a intenção de
What words are commonly confused with "pretender"?
"pretender" is commonly confused with "prender". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pretender"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pretender" is /pɾɨ.tẽ.ˈdeɾ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pretender" come from?
"pretender" is a Portuguese word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar Portuguese words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pretender", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Portuguese headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

patriarca#22,411vagamente#22,491argamassa#22,527arrancada#22,529

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

penitência14 variantsseguradora14 variantsloteamento14 variantsequatoriano14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list