pretense - Definitions from Dictionary.com

5 results for: pretense

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

pre·tense

Audio Help [pri-tens, pree-tens] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	pretending or feigning; make-believe: My sleepiness was all pretense.

2.	a false show of something: a pretense of friendship.

3.	a piece of make-believe.

4.	the act of pretending or alleging falsely.

5.	a false allegation or justification: He excused himself from the lunch on a pretense of urgent business.

6.	insincere or false profession: His pious words were mere pretense.

7.	the putting forth of an unwarranted claim.

8.	the claim itself.

9.	any allegation or claim: to obtain money under false pretenses.

10.	pretension (usually fol. by to): destitute of any pretense to wit.

11.	pretentiousness.

Also, especially British, pretence.

[Origin: 1375–1425; late ME < AF < ML *praeténsa, n. use of fem. of praeténsus, ptp. (r. L praetentus) of praetendere to pretend

]

—Related forms

pre·tense·ful, adjective

pre·tense·less, adjective

—Synonyms 1. shamming. 2. semblance. 3. mask, veil.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
pretense

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

pre·tense Audio Help (prē'těns', prĭ-těns') Pronunciation Key
n.

The act of pretending; a false appearance or action intended to deceive.
A false or studied show; an affectation: a pretense of nonchalance.
A professed but feigned reason or excuse; a pretext: under false pretenses.
Something imagined or pretended.
Mere show without reality; outward appearance.
A right asserted with or without foundation; a claim. See Synonyms at claim.
The quality or state of being pretentious; ostentation.

[Middle English, from Old French pretensse, from Medieval Latin *praetēnsa, from Late Latin, feminine of praetēnsus, alteration of Latin praetentus, past participle of praetendere, to pretend, assert; see pretend.]

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pretense

1425, "the putting forth of a claim," from M.Fr. pretensse, from fem. of L.L. prætensus, from L. prætensus, pp. of prætendere (see pretend). Meaning "false or hypocritical profession" is from 1545. Pretension is c.1600 meaning "assertion;" sense of "ostentation" is from 1727.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

pretense
noun
1.	the act of giving a false appearance; "his conformity was only pretending"
2.	pretending with intention to deceive
3.	imaginative intellectual play
4.	a false or unsupportable quality [syn: pretension]
5.	an artful or simulated semblance; "under the guise of friendship he betrayed them" [syn: guise]