Pretense
WordNet
noun
(1) The act of giving a false appearance
"His conformity was only pretending"
(2) An artful or simulated semblance
"Under the guise of friendship he betrayed them"
(3) A false or unsupportable quality
(4) Imaginative intellectual play
(5) Pretending with intention to deceive
WiktionaryText
Alternative spellings
- pretence (Only correct spelling in the UK, Irish Republic, and Commonwealth countries, and historical use in the United States)
Etymology
From < , past participle of < + ; see pretend.
Noun
- A false or hypocritical profession, as, under pretense of friendliness; sham, pretext, claim; an effort to give some appearance or mislead.
- without pretense of accuracy
Synonyms
- sham a substitution, imitation or counterfeit purporting to be the real thing
- affectation denotes deception for the sake of escape from punishment or an awkward situation
- subterfuge
- See also Wikisaurus:pretext
Related terms
- pretend
- pretender
- pretension
- pretentious
- pretentiousness