pretense
noun
, pri-ˈten(t)s\
Definition of pretense
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Synonyms for pretense
Synonyms
affectation, affectedness, grandiosity, inflation, pretension, pretentiousness
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Examples of pretense in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Ogg said that because two people died while Goines was allegedly committing a felony -- tampering with a government record by obtaining one under false pretenses -- he was charged with two counts of felony murder in the deaths. — Hollie Silverman, CNN, "Former Houston officer accused of lying faces murder charges after botched raid," 23 Aug. 2019 James O’Keefe, an activist who likes to capture videos under false pretenses to embarrass liberals and journalists, filmed the scene. — Katie Rogers, New York Times, "White House Hosts Conservative Internet Activists at a ‘Social Media Summit’," 11 July 2019 No Harvard coaches were charged in that scheme, nor were any parents accused of securing admission to the school under false pretenses, though one allegedly tried. — Melissa Korn, WSJ, "Harvard Dismisses Fencing Coach Over Conflict-of-Interest Violation," 9 July 2019 Multiple crew members told the reporter Chloe Melas that Spacey had a habit of touching male staffers, sometimes by fake wrestling with them as a pretense to grab their crotches, and sometimes in yet-more-aggressive ways. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Kevin Spacey Is Not Vindicated," 18 July 2019 This year, Amazon just gave up on any pretense of a one-day event. — Mike Murphy, Quartz, "Amazon Prime day is here again. And it’s not a single day," 25 June 2019 According to court records, McGregor picked up the woman May 15 at her hotel on Fort Lauderdale beach under the pretense of taking her to buy some drugs. — Wayne K. Roustan, sun-sentinel.com, "Man accused of armed kidnapping, attempted rape, attempted murder," 15 June 2019 The old democratic promise of travel, that everyone might have an adventure, isn’t maintained even as a pretense. — Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, "The TWA Hotel revives a magnificent, mid-century vision of the friendly skies," 12 June 2019 Oleg, see, is in the States on the pretense of attending a class in the titular subject, but Stan suspects something more is up. — Todd Vanderwerff, Vox, "The Americans begins its long plunge toward the end in a riveting episode," 12 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pretense.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for pretense
pretense
noun
English Language Learners Definition of pretense
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pretense
nounKids Definition of pretense
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