PRETENDER

hypocrite, dissembler, dissimulator, phony, phoney, pretender

(noun) 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

imposter, impostor, pretender, fake, faker, fraud, sham, shammer, pseudo, pseud, role player

(noun) a person who makes deceitful pretenses

Pretender

(noun) a claimant to the throne or to the office of ruler (usually without just title)

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

pretender (plural pretenders)

A person who professes beliefs and opinions that they do not hold.

A claimant to an abolished or already occupied throne.

Synonyms

• dissembler

• hypocrite

• phoney

Source: Wiktionary

Pre*tend"er, n.

1. One who lays claim, or asserts a title (to something); a claimant. Specifically,

Definition: The pretender (Eng. Hist.), the son or the grandson of James II., the heir of the royal family of Stuart, who laid claim to the throne of Great Britain, from which the house was excluded by law. It is the shallow, unimproved intellects that are the confident pretenders to certainty. Glanvill.

2. One who pretends, simulates, or feigns.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition