| / English Dictionary |
PRETENSE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of giving a false appearance
Example:
his conformity was only pretending
Synonyms:
feigning; pretence; pretending; pretense; simulation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("pretense" is a kind of...):
deceit; deception; dissembling; dissimulation (the act of deceiving)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pretense"):
appearance; show (pretending that something is the case in order to make a good impression)
make-believe; pretend (the enactment of a pretense)
affectation; affectedness; mannerism; pose (a deliberate pretense or exaggerated display)
charade; masquerade (making a false outward show)
Derivation:
pretend (make believe with the intent to deceive)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An artful or simulated semblance
Example:
under the guise of friendship he betrayed them
Synonyms:
guise; pretence; pretense; pretext
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("pretense" is a kind of...):
color; colour; gloss; semblance (an outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately misleading)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A false or unsupportable quality
Synonyms:
pretence; pretense; pretension
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("pretense" is a kind of...):
artificiality (the quality of being produced by people and not occurring naturally)
Derivation:
pretend (put forward a claim and assert right or possession of)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Imaginative intellectual play
Synonyms:
make-believe; pretence; pretense
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("pretense" is a kind of...):
imagery; imagination; imaging; mental imagery (the ability to form mental images of things or events)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Pretending with intention to deceive
Synonyms:
dissembling; feigning; pretence; pretense
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("pretense" is a kind of...):
deceit; deception; misrepresentation (a misleading falsehood)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pretense"):
bluff (pretense that your position is stronger than it really is)
pretext; stalking-horse (something serving to conceal plans; a fictitious reason that is concocted in order to conceal the real reason)
hypocrisy; lip service (an expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction)
Derivation:
pretend (make believe with the intent to deceive)
pretentious (making claim to or creating an appearance of (often undeserved) importance or distinction)
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