pretense

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

Also spelled pretence

US /ˈpritɛns/ UK /prɪˈtɛns/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a false show or pretext intended to deceive

He gained entry under the pretense of being an inspector.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a false show or pretext... pretext sham facade guise charade subterfuge affectation show

Opposites

sincerity candor honesty

Word family

Forms pretences

Related forms pretend pretension pretentious

Etymology

From Anglo-French pretense, from Medieval Latin pretensus, variant of Latin praetentus, past participle of praetendere ('to stretch forth, allege'), from prae- ('before') + tendere ('to stretch').

praetendere Latin tendere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# pretense

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpritɛns/
**IPA (UK):** /prɪˈtɛns/

## Meanings
1. a false show or pretext intended to deceive

## Examples
- He gained entry under the pretense of being an inspector.

## Synonyms
- pretext
- sham
- facade
- guise
- charade
- subterfuge
- affectation
- show

## Antonyms
- sincerity
- candor
- honesty

## Related Forms
- pretend
- pretension
- pretentious

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: praetendere
- Root: tendere

## Etymology
From Anglo-French pretense, from Medieval Latin pretensus, variant of Latin praetentus, past participle of praetendere ('to stretch forth, allege'), from prae- ('before') + tendere ('to stretch').

## AI Etymology
Pretense is from Anglo-French pretense, from Medieval Latin pretensus, variant of Latin praetentus, past participle of praetendere ('to stretch forth, allege'), from prae- ('before') + tendere ('to stretch'). Important recorded forms include praetendere (Latin) and tendere (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers a false show or pretext intended to deceive. The wider family includes related words such as pretend, pretension, and pretentious.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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