Lying and pretending the same?

You’re not trying to fool anybody when you pretend.

Welcome to flutherville, @peanut – would you elaborate a little more about as to why you asked this particular question? What has brought it on?

Lying is to tell an untruth, knowingly – it is to deceive – right?

To pretend can be a whole bunch of things: You can pretend to care about something, and grow to actually care in time. You can pretend to be a clown for your 4 year old brother’s birthday… yes, there are similarities – but lying I think is the grown up version of pretend – which is still harmless – for the most part.

What do you think?

i think lying is worse. Pretending is for amusement mainly, but lying is being more untruthful and deceptive, as in to manipulate others.

Pretending is for amusement, while lying is for deceit. They are entirely different things.

As others have said, but I would add pretending can be positive, as in “act as if”. If you are shy, pretending to be an outgoing person can be good. Pretending is acting for a purpose you believe to be good. Lying is… well… to get out of a situation when you know you are wrong.

The part in Galaxy Quest where Tim Allen couldn’t explain the concept of pretending (and told the Thermians that he was lying instead) always bugged me.

I don’t know what the difference might be technically but it seems like lying is trying to deceive someone else in order to gain something for yourself and pretending is either a harmless fantasy or amusement, which is entertaining and probably healthy or it is an attempt to lie to and deceive yourself for some reason, which may not be at all harmless or healthy. It would depend on what you are pretending, I think.

Pretending is fun and the other person can be in on the joke. Lying is more serious as it means you want to mislead someone or hide something from them. The one can shade into the other as for example confidence tricksters who pretend to be someone they are not for gain.

Pretending is usually deliberate and less serious, whereas lying is something that you may do accidentally. I, myself, am a notorious liar, simply to keep other people happy. I realise this contradicts another answer I gave, in which I stated that “honesty is the best policy” but sometimes that fails to give the best results, regardless of it’s honourableness. Besides, I’m so good by now that no-one finds out; I can develop a fake identity on a whim when necessary (and it has been before).

something i didnt see so far was this. Lying is more impulsive, a defense for your own little security. even if u plan ahead. Ask your self next time you lie, (and it’ll happen be truthful.) why did I lie? Pretending is not really negative in any aspect i know of. “Pretending to be some-one you’re not is not pretending. its lying even if you dont realize it.

we often play ‘pretend’ with kids to help them learn concepts; but as adults, we don’t need the facade – so any untruth is a lie.