pretext

[ pree-tekst ]

/ ˈpri tɛkst /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pretext ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

something that is put forward to conceal a true purpose or object; an ostensible reason; excuse: The leaders used the insults as a pretext to declare war.

the misleading appearance or behavior assumed with this intention: His many lavish compliments were a pretext for subtle mockery.

Nearby words

preterm infant, pretermission, pretermit, preternatural, pretest, pretext, pretexta, pretexting, pretibial fever, pretibial myxedema, preticketed

Origin of pretext

1505–15; < Latin praetextum pretext, ornament, noun use of neuter past participle of praetexere to pretend, literally, to weave in front, hence, adorn. See pre-, texture

SYNONYMS FOR pretext

2 subterfuge, evasion.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pretext ON THESAURUS.COM

Can be confused

pretense pretext

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pretext

Maula Bux himself was killed in 2006, after being lured across the border by Iranian forces on the pretext of a drug deal.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan|Umar Farooq|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some Syrian rebel groups maintain that the Americans invented Khorasan as a pretext for the attack.
Spies Warned White House: Don’t Hit Al Qaeda in Syria|Shane Harris, Jamie Dettmer|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But he warned against using the pretext of defense to launch vast campaigns of destruction.
Pope Francis vs. The Warmongers|Barbie Latza Nadeau|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That pretext may have come with the violence that erupted in the port city of Odessa on yesterday.
Carnage in Ukraine: Dozens of Pro-Russia Activists Die in Odessa|Jamie Dettmer|May 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST

There is the critical difference that in this case the U.S. administration is not looking for a pretext to go to war.
Western Intelligence Suspects Assad Has a Secret Chemical Stockpile|Noah Shachtman, Christopher Dickey|May 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Undoubtedly he would have you both arrested on some pretext.
The Ivory Snuff Box|Arnold Fredericks
I made a pretext for going to Paris—the old pretext, the dentist.
The Street Called Straight|Basil King
This was a pretext to represent these fanatics (p. 165) as the instruments of the captive queen.
Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 5 of 8|Various
The pretext is so flimsy, that we wonder how any prime minister could find courage to state it in his place.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 63, No. 389, March 1848|Various
Here he remained six months under an assumed name, with the pretext of desiring to purchase hummock-lands.
Petals Plucked from Sunny Climes|Sylvia Sunshine

British Dictionary definitions for pretext

pretext

/ (ˈpriːtɛkst) /

noun

a fictitious reason given in order to conceal the real one

a specious excuse; pretence

Word Origin for pretext

C16: from Latin praetextum disguise, from praetexere to weave in front, disguise; see texture

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012