Pretend vs Dare - What's the difference?
pretend | dare | Synonyms |
To claim, allege, especially when falsely or as a form of deliberate deception.
* 1749 , (Henry Fielding), Tom Jones , XVIII.23:
*:"After what past at Upton, so soon to engage in a new amour with another woman, while I fancied, and you pretended , your heart was bleeding for me!"
*{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=5 * 2009 , "Vanity publishing", The Economist , 13 Apr 2009:
To feign, affect (a state, quality, etc.).
* Milton
* 2007 , The Guardian , 29 Oct 2007:
To lay claim (to) (an ability, status, advantage, etc.). (originally used without to )
* Dryden
* 1946 , (Bertrand Russell), History of Western Philosophy , I.25:
To make oneself appear (to) do or be doing something; to engage in make-believe.
* 1814 , (Jane Austen), Mansfield Park :
*:"The truth is, Ma'am," said Mrs. Grant, pretending to whisper across the table to Mrs. Norris, "that Dr. Grant hardly knows what the natural taste of our apricot is [...]."
* 2003 , Duncan Campbell, The Guardian , 23 Jan 2003:
(obsolete) To hold before, or put forward, as a cloak or disguise for something else; to exhibit as a veil for something hidden.
* Milton
(obsolete) To intend; to design; to plot; to attempt.
* Shakespeare
(obsolete) To hold before one; to extend.
*1596 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , VI.11:
*:Pastorella […] Was by the Captaine all this while defended, / Who, minding more her safety then himselfe, / His target alwayes over her pretended […].
To have enough courage (to do something).
* Shakespeare
* Macaulay
To defy or challenge (someone to do something)
To have enough courage to meet or do something, go somewhere, etc.; to face up to
* The Century
To terrify; to daunt.
* Beaumont and Fletcher
To catch (larks) by producing terror through the use of mirrors, scarlet cloth, a hawk, etc., so that they lie still till a net is thrown over them.
A challenge to prove courage.
The quality of daring; venturesomeness; boldness.
* Shakespeare
defiance; challenge
* Chapman
* Shakespeare
(obsolete) To stare stupidly or vacantly; to gaze as though amazed or terrified.
(obsolete) To lie or crouch down in fear.
*, Bk.XX, ch.xix:
*:‘Sir, here bene knyghtes com of kyngis blod that woll nat longe droupe and dare within thys wallys.’
A small fish, the dace.
* 1766 , Richard Brookes, The art of angling, rock and sea-fishing
Pretend is a synonym of dare.
As a verb pretend
is .As a noun dare is
tongs.pretend
English
Verb
(en verb)citation, passage=‘It's rather like a beautiful Inverness cloak one has inherited. Much too good to hide away, so one wears it instead of an overcoat and pretends it's an amusing new fashion.’}}
- I have nothing but contempt for people who hire ghost-writers. But at least most faux authors have the decency to pretend that they are sweating blood over "their" book.
- This let him know, / Lest, willfully transgressing, he pretend / Surprisal.
- Gap and other clothes manufacturers should stop using small subcontractors because they are difficult to control. Instead, they should open up their own fully-owned production facilities so that they cannot pretend ignorance when abuses are committed.
- Chiefs shall be grudged the part which they pretend .
- People observed the diversity of schools and the acerbity of their disputes, and decided that all alike were pretending to knowledge which was in fact unattainable.
- Luster claimed that the women had consented to sex and were only pretending to be asleep.
- Lest that too heavenly form, pretended / To hellish falsehood, snare them.
- Such as shall pretend / Malicious practices against his state.
Usage notes
* This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . SeeExternal links
* *dare
English
(wikipedia dare)Etymology 1
From (etyl) durran, from (etyl) .Verb
- I wouldn't dare argue with my boss.
- The fellow dares not deceive me.
- Why then did not the ministers use their new law? Because they durst not, because they could not.
- I dare you to kiss that girl.
- Will you dare death to reach your goal?
- To wrest it from barbarism, to dare its solitudes.
- For I have done those follies, those mad mischiefs, / Would dare a woman.
- (Nares)
Usage notes
* Dare is a semimodal verb. The speaker can choose whether to use the auxiliary "to" when forming negative and interrogative sentences. For example, "I don't dare (to) go" and "I dare not go" are both correct. Similarly "Dare you go?" and "Do you dare (to) go?" are both correct. * In negative and interrogative sentences where "do" is not used, the third-person singular form of the verb is usually "dare" and not "dares": "Dare he go? He dare not go." * Colloquially, "dare not" can be contracted to "daren't". * The expression dare say'', used almost exclusively in the first-person singular and in the present tense, means "think probable". It is also spelt ''daresay . * Historically, the simple past of dare was durst. In the 1830s, it was overtaken by dared, which has been markedly more common ever since.Derived terms
* daredevil * daren't * daresay * daresn'tNoun
(en noun)- It lends a lustre / A large dare to our great enterprise.
- Childish, unworthy dares / Are not enought to part our powers.
- Sextus Pompeius / Hath given the dare to Caesar.
Etymology 2
(etyl) darian.Verb
(dar)Etymology 3
Noun
(en noun)- The Dare is not unlike a Chub, but proportionably less; his Body is more white and flatter, and his Tail more forked.
