pretense
Americannoun
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pretending or feigning; make-believe.
My sleepiness was all pretense.
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a false show of something.
a pretense of friendship.
- Synonyms:
- semblance
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a piece of make-believe.
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the act of pretending or alleging falsely.
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a false allegation or justification.
He excused himself from the lunch on a pretense of urgent business.
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insincere or false profession.
His pious words were mere pretense.
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the putting forth of an unwarranted claim.
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the claim itself.
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any allegation or claim.
to obtain money under false pretenses.
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pretension (usually followed byto ).
destitute of any pretense to wit.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pretense
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Anglo-French, from unattested Medieval Latin praetēnsa, noun use of feminine of praetēnsus, past participle (replacing Latin praetentus ) of praetendere “to put forward, stretch forth, pretend”; see origin at pretend
Explanation
When you operate under a pretense, you're not being honest. You're pretending. If you say you're going to a party because you’re eager to see your friend, but really you're just interested in the birthday cake, you’re acting on pretense. Pretense involves deceiving on purpose, and it's usually something you shouldn’t be proud of. Under the pretense of being a college student, you might sneak into a library restricted to enrolled students. That’s dishonest and deceitful. But pretense isn’t always bad. You might not want to hurt your mother’s feelings, so you make a pretense of loving her tuna casserole, even though you’re trying not to gag on it.
Vocabulary lists containing pretense
"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from Act 1
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from Act 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Their analysis was anticipated by that of Frederick Hayek in The Pretense of Knowledge, his Nobel Prize acceptance speech:
From Forbes • May 30, 2014
"Pretense is something chefs on his level struggle with," says Ruth Reichl, former editor of Gourmet magazine.
From Chicago Tribune • Feb. 15, 2011
Pretense: this is the way an imaginary paper,the Jerusalem Dally News, might have told the story.
From Time Magazine Archive
Cassaleria is another star-crossed son of Pretense, the father of poor Sham, who would have won any other Kentucky Derby and most other Preaknesses but finished second to Secretariat on both occasions in 1973.
From Time Magazine Archive
When Resistance Is Only a Pretense I was delighted to learn before my departure for the country, that your mind was more at rest.
From Life, Letters, and Epicurean Philosophy of Ninon de L'Enclos The Celebrated Beauty of the Seventeenth Century by Overton, William Hassell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
