View synonyms for

put-on

[poot-on, -awn, poot-on, -awn]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Informal.

an act or instance of putting someone on.
a prank or pretense, especially one perpetrated or assumed in mock seriousness; hoax; spoof.
affected manner or behavior; pretentiousness.

adjective

assumed, feigned, pretended, or disguised.
a put-on manner that didn't fool anyone.

put on

verb

to clothe oneself in
to put on a coat
(usually passive) to adopt (an attitude or feeling) insincerely
his misery was just put on
to present or stage (a play, show, etc)
to increase or add
she put on weight
the batsman put on fifty runs before lunch
to cause (an electrical device) to function
(also preposition) to wager (money) on a horse race, game, etc
he put ten pounds on the favourite
(also preposition) to impose as a burden or levy
to put a tax on cars
cricket to cause (a bowler) to bowl
1. to connect (a person) by telephone
2. slang��to mock or tease

noun

a hoax or piece of mockery
an affected manner or mode of behaviour

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Word History and Origins

Origin of put-on¹

1855–60; adj., noun use of verb phrase put ( someone ) on

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Idioms and Phrases

Clothe oneself with, as in I put on my socks . [Mid-1400s]

Apply, activate, as in He put on the brakes . [Mid-1700s]

Assume affectedly, pretend to, as in He put on a British accent . This idiom is sometimes put as put it on , as in He's not really asleep; he's putting it on . [Late 1600s; late 1800s]

put someone on . Tease or mislead another, as in I don't believe you! You're putting me on . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]

Add to, gain, as in Please put this on our bill , or I've put on some weight .

Cause to be performed, produce, as in I hear they're putting on Shakespeare this summer . [Late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

To do so would seem like a silly put-on — like a weird grief pantomime.

From

“People trust me because I’m not a put-on.”

From

To Finch’s credit, this wasn’t a complete political put-on.

From

But he writes with sensitivity too, from painterly depictions of the Palm Desert and Salton Sea to riffs on the Talmud that suggest Cohen’s faith isn’t entirely a put-on.

From

But it was just a tactic — what Kanai called a “put-on.”

From

put off put on a brave face

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