pretense

English

Alternative forms

• pretence (Only correct spelling in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, and Commonwealth countries, and historical use in the United States)
• prætense (archaic)

Etymology

Borrowing from Middle French pretensse, from Late Latin praetensus, past participle of Latin praetendō (“to pretend”), from prae- (“before”) + tendō (“to stretch”); see pretend.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɹiːtɛns/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

pretense (countable and uncountable, plural pretenses)

1. (US) A false or hypocritical profession

   under pretense of friendliness

2. Intention or purpose not real but professed.

   with only a pretense of accuracy

3. An unsupported claim made or implied.
4. An insincere attempt to reach a specific condition or quality.

Synonyms

• affectation denotes deception for the sake of escape from punishment or an awkward situation
• false pretense
• fiction
• imitation
• pretext
• sham
• subterfuge

• See also Wikisaurus:pretext

Related terms

• pretend
• pretender
• pretension
• pretentious
• pretentiousness

Translations

false or hypocritical profession

• Czech: předstírání n
• Irish: cur i gcéill m

• Russian: притво́рство (ru) n (pritvórstvo)

Further reading

• pretense in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• pretense in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Anagrams

• Petersen, pre-teens, preteens, terpenes