pretenders
Those feigning legitimacy
Pretenders are people who claim something false—usually a title, status, or ability they don't possess.
Historically, a pretender is someone who claims a throne: the pretender to the Spanish crown.
More broadly, anyone feigning qualities they lack: The field is full of pretenders who can't back up their talk.
The word implies deception or self-delusion, distinguishing those who merely aspire from those who falsely claim.
Pretenders to special knowledge
- fraudsDeceptive acts or impostors
- fakesFraudulent imitations
- phoniesInsincere pretenders
- poseursAffected pretenders
swindlers · hoaxers · quacks · masqueraders · counterfeits · deceivers · mountebanks · forgers
People seeking success
- candidatesThose seeking selection
- contendersThose seeking to win
- claimantsThose asserting ownership
- seekersThose who pursue answers
strivers · dreamers · up-and-comers · wannabes · also-rans
Ceremonial chair for sovereigns
- coupAbrupt seizure of power
- overthrowForcible removal from power
- illegitimateNot authorized or recognized
- claimantOne asserting entitlement
usurpation · false king · disputed succession · Bonnie Prince Charlie · Jacobites · rightful heir · exile · restoration
charlatans
Pretenders to special knowledge
poseurs · swindlers · hoaxers · quacks · masqueraders · counterfeits · deceivers · mountebanks · forgers · scammers
hopefuls
People seeking success
- candidatesThose seeking selection
- contendersThose seeking to win
- claimantsThose asserting ownership
seekers · strivers · dreamers · up-and-comers · wannabes · also-rans
throne
Ceremonial chair for sovereigns
- coupAbrupt seizure of power
- overthrowForcible removal from power
- illegitimateNot authorized or recognized
claimant · usurpation · false king · disputed succession · Bonnie Prince Charlie · Jacobites · rightful heir · exile · restoration · interregnum
Kid
Child or young goat
- deceiversliar, liars, deceiver, fraud, fake
- Pennant Racemagic number, games back, stretch run, clinch, clinching
- Scottish HistoryScottish Parliament, clans, Alba, Culloden, Bannockburn
- throne seekersusurpers, heirs, successors, claimants, inheritors
- lineageancestry, royal dynasties, bloodline, noble houses, dynasty
- show-offsbraggarts, boasters, showboats, grandstanders, egotists
pretendersgenuine articles
Authentic items, not counterfeits
originals · the real thing · true believers · legitimates · honest brokers
- The PretenderFalse claimant to throne