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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

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

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. An intention; a design; a purpose.
  2. n. The act of pretending, or putting forward something to conceal the true state of affairs, and thus to deceive; hence, the representation of that which does not exist; simulation; feigning; a false or hypocritical show; a sham.
  3. n. That under cover of which an actual design or meaning is concealed; a pretext.
  4. n. Pretension; aspiration; the putting forth of a claim, particularly to merit, dignity, or personal worth; pretentiousness.
  5. n. A claim; a right asserted, with or without foundation.

Wiktionary

  1. n. US A false or hypocritical profession, as, under pretense of friendliness.
  2. n. Intention or purpose not real but professed.
  3. n. An unsupported claim made or implied.
  4. n. An insincere attempt to reach a specific condition or quality.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. The act of laying claim; the claim laid; assumption; pretension.
  2. n. 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.
  3. n. That which is pretended; false, deceptive, or hypocritical show, argument, or reason; pretext; feint.
  4. n. obsolete Intention; design.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a false or unsupportable quality
  2. n. pretending with intention to deceive
  3. n. imaginative intellectual play
  4. n. the act of giving a false appearance
  5. n. an artful or simulated semblance

Etymologies

  1. From Middle French pretensse, from Late Latin prætensus, past participle of prætendere ("to pretend"), from præ- ("before") + tendere ("to stretch"); see pretend. (Wiktionary)
  2. 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. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

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‘pretense’ has been looked up 3155 times, loved by 6 people, added to 43 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 10.