pretense
Americannoun
-
pretending or feigning; make-believe.
My sleepiness was all pretense.
-
a false show of something.
a pretense of friendship.
- Synonyms:
- semblance
-
a piece of make-believe.
-
the act of pretending or alleging falsely.
-
a false allegation or justification.
He excused himself from the lunch on a pretense of urgent business.
-
insincere or false profession.
His pious words were mere pretense.
-
the putting forth of an unwarranted claim.
-
the claim itself.
-
any allegation or claim.
to obtain money under false pretenses.
-
pretension (usually followed byto ).
destitute of any pretense to wit.
Other Word Forms
- pretenseful adjective
- pretenseless adjective
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”; pretend
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.
“Your uncle led me here under false pretenses. Besides, the other line’s shorter. Meet me by where the band is going to play. Bring chairs.”
From Literature
Shredded was the pretense that men’s Division I basketball and football players are amateurs—and the NCAA’s ability to regulate sports.
For those of my generation who were fortunate enough to go to college, it did expose much of the pretense of higher education and made us admit as much.
Pitino has made a smooth transition to college basketball’s wild new order, in which the pretense of amateurism has been abandoned and the transfer portal reshapes the roster every 12 months.
“It’s a terrible idea to move swiftly and not have the really complicated and challenging process that is required to actually work towards more than a superficial pretense of revisionist history,” Gudis said.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
