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pretense

pre·tense
P p

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [pri-tens, pree-tens]
    • /prɪˈtɛns, ˈpri tɛns/
    • /prɪˈtens/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [pri-tens, pree-tens]
    • /prɪˈtɛns, ˈpri tɛns/

Definitions of pretense word

  • noun pretense pretending or feigning; make-believe: My sleepiness was all pretense. 1
  • noun pretense a false show of something: a pretense of friendship. 1
  • noun pretense a piece of make-believe. 1
  • noun pretense the act of pretending or alleging falsely. 1
  • noun pretense a false allegation or justification: He excused himself from the lunch on a pretense of urgent business. 1
  • noun pretense insincere or false profession: His pious words were mere pretense. 1

Information block about the term

Origin of pretense

First appearance:

before 1375
One of the 22% oldest English words
1375-1425; late Middle English < Anglo-French < Medieval Latin *praetēnsa, noun use of feminine of praetēnsus, past participle (replacing Latin praetentus) of praetendere to pretend

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Pretense

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

pretense popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 93% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

pretense usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for pretense

noun pretense

  • acting — Acting is the activity or profession of performing in plays or films.
  • affectation — If you say that someone's attitude or behaviour is an affectation, you disapprove of the fact that it is not genuine or natural, but is intended to impress other people.
  • affectedness — assumed artificially; unnatural; feigned: affected sophistication; an affected British accent.
  • airs — affected manners intended to impress others (esp in the phrases give oneself airs, put on airs)
  • apery — imitative behaviour; mimicry

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See also

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