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Noun: pretender  pri'ten-du(r)
  1. A person who makes deceitful pretences
    "The pretender claimed to be a long-lost relative to gain access to the family fortune";
    - imposter, impostor, fake, faker, fraud, sham, shammer, pseudo, pseud [informal]
     
  2. A person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives
    "The politician was labelled a pretender when his actions contradicted his public statements";
    - hypocrite, dissembler, dissimulator, phony [N. Amer], phoney
Noun: Pretender
  1. A claimant to the throne or to the office of ruler (usually without just title)

Derived forms: pretenders

Type of: claimant, deceiver, slicker [informal], trickster

Encyclopedia: Pretender, The