playact
Perform for show
Playact means to perform dramatically or theatrically, but more often it describes behaving in an exaggerated or insincere way—pretending to feel or be something you're not.
She playacted surprise when they told her the news.
The term carries a note of falseness: someone who playacts their emotions isn't genuinely experiencing them but putting on a show.
Children playact when they pretend to be superheroes or doctors; adults playact when they feign interest or enthusiasm.
Pretend to have
bluff · pose · put-on · masquerade · charade · affectation · impersonate · simulate
Imaginative play or fantasy
- dress-upPlay involving costumes
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
- pretendAct as though
tea party · superhero · princess · pirates · cops and robbers · cowboys · stuffed animals · imaginary friend
feign
Pretend to have
dissemble · bluff · pose · put-on · masquerade · charade · affectation · impersonate · simulate · deceive
make-believe
Imaginative play or fantasy
- dress-upPlay involving costumes
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
pretend · tea party · superhero · princess · pirates · cops and robbers · cowboys · stuffed animals · imaginary friend · costumes
perform
Execute or present
- rehearsePractice before performing
- stageRaised performance platform
- scriptWritten words for performance
monologue · dialogue · scene · role · character · costume · audience · improv · dramatics · ham
hoax
Deliberate deception for effect
trickery · duplicity · deceit · hypocrisy · misrepresentation · two-faced · charlatan · impostor · manipulate · scheme