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Meaning of pretense in English

  1. Pronunciation

    /ˈpriˌtɛns/

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  1. Noun

    pretense

    Etymology

    late Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French pretense, based on medieval Latin pretensus‘pretended’, alteration of Latin praetentus, from the verb praetendere (see pretend)

    Definitions

    1. the act of giving a false appearance

    Examples

    • « his conformity was only pretending »
  2. 2. pretending with intention to deceive
  3. 3. imaginative intellectual play
  4. 4. a false or unsupportable quality
  5. 5. an artful or simulated semblance

    Examples

    • « under the guise of friendship he betrayed them »

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