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B1⚖️ Law & Politics

Italian word

pretendere

to claim; to demand; to expect (often unreasonably)

Looks like

pretend

to act as if something is true when it is not; to feign

⚠️ The trap

Italian 'pretendere' means to claim or demand something (seriously). English 'pretend' means to fake or act as if. These are essentially opposite in tone. Saying 'He pretended to own the land' and 'Ha preteso di possedere il terreno' have completely different meanings.

To say "to act as if something is true when it is not; to feign" in Italian:

pretendere

"pretendere" in English means:

to claim; to demand; to expect (often unreasonably)

Example

"Il querelante pretende un risarcimento di 50.000 euro."

"The claimant is demanding €50,000 in compensation."

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