play atsomething
phrasal verbwithplayverbuk/pleɪ/us/pleɪ/
UKtopretendto be aparticularpersonor to do aparticularthing, usually as agame:
Thechildrenwereplayingat Batman and Robin.
to act as if something is true when it is not
- pretendShe pretended not to know about the surprise.
- make believeHe's just going to make believe that things are fine in spite of the divorce.
- play at somethingUKThe children are playing at cops and robbers.
- role-playDuring class, we role-played being a customer and a salesperson to learn words related to shopping.
- fakeShe's only faking being ill.
- feignThe police questioned him about the break-in, but he feigned ignorance.
to do something forenjoymentorinterest, or without muchcareandeffort,ratherthan in aseriousway or as ajob:
She's onlyplayingat being anactress- she's going off tolawschoolnextyear.
- She's stillplayingat being aprofessionalsinger.
- He's not reallyinterestedin thekids, he's justplayingat being theperfectfathertoimpresshisparents.
- Thekidshave beenplayingat Doctors and Nurses allafternoon.
- Theclassroomhas ahomecornerwhere thechildrencanplayat being Mummies and Daddies.
- You can't justplayat being amother, it's alifelongcommitment.
Faking & pretending
- affect
- air guitar
- assume
- believe
- changeling
- charlatan
- cry
- false
- false modesty
- falsifiable
- falsify
- feign
- massage
- mountebank
- out-bluff
- passsomethingoff assomething
- phoney
- professed
- purport
- quack
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Celebrating & entertaining