Definitions for pretence
pre·tence

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pretension, pretense, pretencenoun

   a false or unsupportable quality

2. guise, pretense, pretence, pretextnoun

   an artful or simulated semblance

   "under the guise of friendship he betrayed them"

3. pretense, pretence, feigning, dissemblingnoun

   pretending with intention to deceive

4. pretense, pretence, make-believenoun

   imaginative intellectual play

5. pretense, pretence, pretending, simulation, feigningnoun

   the act of giving a false appearance

   "his conformity was only pretending"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pretencenoun

   An act of pretending or pretension; a false claim or pretext.

2. Etymology: From pretensse, from praetensus (past participle of praetendere, prae- + tendere).

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pretencenoun

   Etymology: prætensus, Lat.

   1. A false argument grounded upon fictitious postulates.

   This pretence against religion will not only be baffled, but we shall gain a new argument to persuade men over. John Tillotson.

   2. The act of showing or alleging what is not real.

   With flying speed and seeming great pretence
   Came running in a messenger. Fairy Queen.

   So strong his appetite was to those executions he had been accustom’d to in Ireland, without any kind of commission or pretence of authority. Edward Hyde.

   O worthy not of liberty alone,
   Too mean pretence, but honour. Philip Miller.

   Let not the Trojans, with a feign’d pretence
   Of proffer’d peace, delude the Latian prince. Dryden.

   I should have dressed the whole with greater care; but I had little time, which I am sure you know to be more than pretence. William Wake, Preparation for Death.

   3. Assumption; claim to notice.

   Despise not these few ensuing pages; for never was any thing of this pretence more ingenuously imparted. John Evelyn.

   4. Claim true or false.

   Spirits in our just pretences arm’d
   Fell with us. John Milton.

   Primogeniture cannot have any pretence to a right of solely inheriting property or power. John Locke.

   5. William Shakespeare uses this word with more affinity to the original Latin, for something threatened, or held out to terrify.

   I have conceived a most faint neglect of late, which I have rather blamed as my own jealous curiosity, than as a very pretence and purpose of unkindness. William Shakespeare.

   In the great hand of God I stand, and thence
   Against the undivulg’d pretence I fight
   Of treas’nous malice. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

   He hath writ this to feel my affection for your honour, and to no other pretence of danger. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pretence

   Pretence is an act of pretending or making something appear to be true when it is not. It often refers to a claim or assertion that is false or an attempt to make something that is not the case appear true, often done in order to deceive or mislead others. It can also refer to the act of behaving in a certain way in order to make others believe something.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pretenceadjective

   alt. of Pretenceless

2. Pretencenoun

   the act of laying claim; the claim laid; assumption; pretension

3. Pretencenoun

   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 Caesar's death

4. Pretencenoun

   that which is pretended; false, deceptive, or hypocritical show, argument, or reason; pretext; feint

5. Pretencenoun

   intention; design

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pretence

   Pretence vs. Pretense -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Pretence and Pretense.

Matched Categories

1. • Artificiality
   • Deception
   • Imagination
   • Misrepresentation
   • Semblance

How to pronounce pretence?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say pretence in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of pretence in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of pretence in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of pretence in a Sentence

1. Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness:

   The conquest of the earth... is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much. What redeems it is the idea only... not a sentimental pretence but an idea.

2. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban:

   This destabilizes European democracies, we need to start the debate about the future of our continent honestly, without the muzzle of' political correctness', without pretence, talking straight.

3. Thomas Jefferson:

   [I]f we can but prevent the government from wasting the labours of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy.

4. Jonathan Grant:

   Everyone is operating under the pretence that editing and streamlining for long enough will actually produce a coherent and short text with clearly defined alternatives for ministers to review.

5. Aleister Crowley:

   The pious pretence that evil does not exist only makes it vague, enormous and menacing.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=pretence
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Pretence
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=pretence
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pretence