Pretense; Pretence

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. The act of laying claim; the claim laid; assumption; pretension. Spenser. Primogeniture can not have any pretense to a right of solely inheriting property or power. Locke. I went to Lambeth with Sir R. Brown's pretense to the wardenship of Merton College, Oxford. Evelyn.

2. The act of holding out, or offering, to others something false or feigned; presentation of what is deceptive or hypocritical; deception by showing what is unreal and concealing what is real; false show; simulation; as, pretense of illness; under pretense of patriotism; on pretense of revenging Cæsar's death.

3. That which is pretended; false, deceptive, or hypocritical show, argument, or reason; pretext; feint. Let not the Trojans, with a feigned pretense Of proffered peace, delude the Latian prince. Dryden.

4. Intention; design. [Obs.] A very pretense and purpose of unkindness. Shak.

Synonyms: Mask; appearance; color; show; pretext; excuse. Pretense, Pretext. A pretense is something held out as real when it is not so, thus falsifying the truth. A pretext is something woven up in order to cover or conceal one's true motives, feelings, or reasons. Pretext is often, but not always, used in a bad sense.