- a variation of pretense.
pretence
Americannoun
noun
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the act of pretending
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a false display; affectation
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a claim, esp a false one, to a right, title, or distinction
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make-believe or feigning
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a false claim or allegation; pretext
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a less common word for pretension
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.
Robin keeps up the pretence for their landlords, which created the comedy and made it acceptable watching for a pre-watershed 70s audience.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Mr. Macron has since abandoned any pretence of an economic-growth agenda.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026
"I always felt her suffering was made worse by the government's pretence."
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2025
"The current pretence is unsustainable, and seems to put all the burden and blame on the victims," he told the BBC.
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2025
“Miss Smith!—message to Miss Smith!—What could she possibly mean!”—And he repeated her words with such assurance of accent, such boastful pretence of amazement, that she could not help replying with quickness,
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
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.
