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Definition of Pretense in English :

Define Pretense in English

Pretense meaning in English

Meaning of Pretense in English

Pronunciation of Pretense in English

Pretense pronunciation in English

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Pretense

see synonyms of pretense

Noun

1. feigning, pretence, pretending, pretense, simulation

the act of giving a false appearance

Example Sentences:
'his conformity was only pretending'

2. dissembling, feigning, pretence, pretense

pretending with intention to deceive

3. make-believe, pretence, pretense

imaginative intellectual play

4. pretence, pretense, pretension

a false or unsupportable quality

5. guise, pretence, pretense, pretext

an artful or simulated semblance

Example Sentences:
'under the guise of friendship he betrayed them'

WordNet Lexical Database for English. Princeton University. 2010.

Pretense

see synonyms of pretense
noun
1. 
a claim, esp. an unsupported one, as to some distinction or accomplishment; pretension
2. 
a false claim or profession
3. 
a false show of something
4. 
a pretending, as at play; make-believe
5. 
a false reason or plea; pretext
6.  Rare
aim; intention
7. 
pretentiousness; ostentation
8. 
a pretentious act or remark

Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Pretense

see synonyms of pretense
n.
1.
a. A false appearance or action intended to deceive: "He ran the back of his hand up her cheek, with the pretense of wiping away sweat" (Jonathan Safran Foer).
b. A professed but feigned reason or excuse; a pretext: left the room under the pretense of having to make a phone call.
2. Something imagined or pretended: "Ardor had atrophied and weariness had taken its place ... their connection was pretense" (Deborah Weisgall).
3.
a. The quality or state of being pretentious; ostentation: so modest as to be free from any hint of pretense.
b. A false or studied show; an affectation: models making a pretense of nonchalance.
4. A claim or assertion to a right, especially a false one: "a celebrity with scarcely any pretense to talent or achievement" (Joseph Epstein).

The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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