variants
or pretence
1
as in affectation
the quality or state of appearing or trying to appear more important or more valuable than is the case
she seemed to be a very down-to-earth woman who was completely free of pretense
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in airs
a display of emotion or behavior that is insincere or intended to deceive
her display of bravado was just a pretense
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3
as in claim
an entitlement to something
this book on gardening makes no pretense at completeness
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4
as in arrogance
an exaggerated sense of one's importance that shows itself in the making of excessive or unjustified claims
the pretense of that woman in thinking that the other hotel guests should be inconvenienced just for her
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of pretense
Electronic surveillance itself doesn’t make The Conversation a political film; Caul’s paranoia comes from his apolitical pretense.
—
Armond White, National Review, 16 Aug. 2024
But in his youth lies the reason for anonymity and pretense, Hoback claims.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 22 Oct. 2024
Liberals, apparently, got up close to voters under the pretense of handing out food and water.
—Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2024
This way, customers get a sense of certainty that they haven't been misled to buy something under false or semi-true marketing pretenses or subjective recommendations.
—Gev Balyan, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pretense 
Armond White, National Review, 16 Aug. 2024
But in his youth lies the reason for anonymity and pretense, Hoback claims.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 22 Oct. 2024
Liberals, apparently, got up close to voters under the pretense of handing out food and water.
—Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2024
This way, customers get a sense of certainty that they haven't been misled to buy something under false or semi-true marketing pretenses or subjective recommendations.
—Gev Balyan, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pretense
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretense
Noun
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Whereas past leading musical ladies have tried to contour their character to their own personality (consider, perhaps, when Emma Watson made sure Belle was wearing boots and not heels), Grande has taken Glinda’s affectations as her own.Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 27 Nov. 2024
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Usually in those highly stylised stories, the assassin has some form of unusual affectation.Nick Miller, The Athletic, 1 Aug. 2024
Noun
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Though the terms are relevant to health insurance companies' strategies for rejecting claims, police have not yet said what the motive might have been.Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 8 Dec. 2024
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The department will also try to notify your property manager and then send an inspector to your home to verify the claim.Maia Pandey, Journal Sentinel, 8 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Kudos are also due Christian Probst as a prince without a drop of royal arrogance.Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 12 Dec. 2024
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Barack Obama came across to his foes as the principle of arrogance.Philip Elliott, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024
Noun
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To arrive at this integration, however, he must be stripped, like Voss, of his own pretensions and the schisms within his self.Ben Woollard, JSTOR Daily, 4 Dec. 2024
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Know your audience, an excitable kind of reader informs the author of a piece that fails to flatter his pretensions or reinforce her most uncharitable assumptions about her political opponents.Noah Rothman, National Review, 20 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Though the act is targeting Ohio Stadium specifically, this law could find its way to other stadiums to stop players from fighting with one another.Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
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It’s most effectively rendered in the second act’s rumble — a stark, visceral, and surprising set piece that uses rain and strobe lighting and leaves both cast and audience breathless.EW Staff, EW.com, 11 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Vegetables too to some extent, although the jury seems in on the superiority of roasted root vegetables with their crispy, caramelized edges.Stacey Lastoe, Southern Living, 24 Nov. 2024
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Russian troops have been leveraging their numerical superiority to intensify pressure on Ukrainian defenses.David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
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The show, which costarred Michael Cole and Clarence Williams III and ran for five seasons, earned Lipton four Emmy nominations and the 1971 Golden Globe for best actress in a television drama.Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 11 Dec. 2024
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Without hesitating, Weil jumped into the water to save his dogs, the video shows.Ahjané Forbes, USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Cramer examined why each stock saw gains, attributing some of their recent successes to the assumption that President-elect Donald Trump’s new regulators will largely abandon efforts to curb big business’ power.Julie Coleman, CNBC, 11 Dec. 2024
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Viewers on TikTok were able to see screenshots of messages from confused users, while the actress went on to debunk their many assumptions.Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near pretense
Cite this Entry
“Pretense.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretense. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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