pre·tence
(prē′tĕns′, prĭ-tĕns′)n. Chiefly British
Variant of pretense.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
pretence
(prɪˈtɛns) orpretense
n
1. the act of pretending
2. a false display; affectation
3. a claim, esp a false one, to a right, title, or distinction
4. make-believe or feigning
5. a false claim or allegation; pretext
6. a less common word for pretension3
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. | pretence - a false or unsupportable quality artificiality - the quality of being produced by people and not occurring naturally |
| 2. |  pretence - an artful or simulated semblance; "under the guise of friendship he betrayed them" | |
| 3. | pretence - pretending with intention to deceive bluff - pretense that your position is stronger than it really is; "his bluff succeeded in getting him accepted" 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 | |
| 4. |  pretence - imaginative intellectual play imagery, imaging, mental imagery, imagination - the ability to form mental images of things or events; "he could still hear her in his imagination" | |
| 5. |  pretence - the act of giving a false appearance; "his conformity was only pretending"show, appearance - pretending that something is the case in order to make a good impression; "they try to keep up appearances"; "that ceremony is just for show" pretend, make-believe - the enactment of a pretense; "it was just pretend" masquerade - making a false outward show; "a beggar's masquerade of wealth" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
pretence
noun
1. deception, invention, sham, fabrication, acting, faking, simulation, deceit, feigning, charade, make-believe, trickery, falsehood, subterfuge, fakery struggling to keep up the pretence that all was well
deception honesty, openness, candour, frankness, ingenuousness
deception honesty, openness, candour, frankness, ingenuousness
2. show, posturing, artifice, affectation, display, appearance, posing, façade, veneer, pretentiousness, hokum (slang, chiefly U.S. & Canad.) She was completely without guile or pretence.
show fact, reality, actuality
show fact, reality, actuality
3. pretext, claim, excuse, show, cover, mask, veil, cloak, guise, façade, masquerade, semblance, ruse, garb, wile He claimed the police beat him up under the pretence that he was resisting arrest.
4. claim, profession, aspiration We have never made any pretence to be faithful to each other.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
تَظاهُر، زَعْم، إدِّعاء
záminka
foregivelse
uppgerî, látalæti
zámienka
pretveza
pretence
pretense (US) [prɪˈtens] N1. (= make-believe) → fingimiento m, simulación f
to make a pretence of doing sth → fingir hacer algo
it's all a pretence → todo es fingido
to make a pretence of doing sth → fingir hacer algo
it's all a pretence → todo es fingido
3. (= pretext) → pretexto m
on or under the pretence of doing sth → so pretexto de hacer algo
see also false A2
on or under the pretence of doing sth → so pretexto de hacer algo
see also false A2
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
pretence
[prɪˈtɛns] pretense (US) n (= show, make-believe) → semblant f
to make a pretence of doing sth → faire semblant de faire qch
pretence at sth → prétention à qch
pretence at doing sth → prétention à faire qch
to abandon any pretence of sth → abandonner tout semblant de qch
to be a pretence → n'être qu'un simulacre
It had all been a pretence → Tout cela n'avait été qu'un simulacre.
to make a pretence of doing sth → faire semblant de faire qch
pretence at sth → prétention à qch
pretence at doing sth → prétention à faire qch
to abandon any pretence of sth → abandonner tout semblant de qch
to be a pretence → n'être qu'un simulacre
It had all been a pretence → Tout cela n'avait été qu'un simulacre.
(= claim) → prétention f
pretence to sth → prétention à qch
to make no pretence to doing sth → ne pas prétendre faire qch
He made no pretence to being a strategist → Il ne prétendait pas être un stratège.
pretence to sth → prétention à qch
to make no pretence to doing sth → ne pas prétendre faire qch
He made no pretence to being a strategist → Il ne prétendait pas être un stratège.
(= pretext) → prétexte m
on the pretence of doing sth → sous prétexte de faire qch
under the pretence of doing sth → sous prétexte de faire qch
on the pretence of doing sth → sous prétexte de faire qch
under the pretence of doing sth → sous prétexte de faire qch
(= affectation) she is devoid of all pretence → elle n'est pas du tout prétentieuse
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
pretence
, (US) pretensen
(= make-believe story) → erfundene Geschichte; (= make-believe person) → erfundene Gestalt; he didn’t really shoot me, it was just pretence → er hat nicht auf mich geschossen, er hat nur so getan; we soon saw through his pretence of being a foreigner → wir durchschauten bald, dass er nur vorspiegelte or vorgab, Ausländer zu sein; to make a pretence of doing something → so tun, als ob man etw tut; he made not even the slightest pretence of being interested → er gab sich (dat) → nicht einmal den Anschein des Interesses; this constant pretence that all is well → die ständige Vorspiegelung, dass alles in Ordnung ist; to maintain a pretence of democracy → den (An)schein einer Demokratie wahren; it’s all a pretence → das ist alles nur gespielt or Mache (inf)
(= feigning, insincerity) → Heuchelei f, → Verstellung f; his coolness is just (a) pretence → seine Kühle ist nur gespielt; his pretence of normality → seine vorgespiegelte Normalität; he made a pretence of friendship → er heuchelte Freundschaft, er gab Freundschaft vor; let’s stop all this pretence → hören wir mit der Heuchelei auf, hören wir auf, uns (dat) → etwas vorzumachen; he is incapable of pretence → er kann sich nicht verstellen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
pretence
pretense (Am) [prɪˈtɛns] na. his pretence of innocence/sympathy → la sua finta or falsa innocenza/comprensione
she is devoid of all pretence → non si nasconde dietro false apparenze
to make a pretence of doing sth → far finta di fare qc
it's all (a) pretence → è tutta una finta, è tutta scena
she is devoid of all pretence → non si nasconde dietro false apparenze
to make a pretence of doing sth → far finta di fare qc
it's all (a) pretence → è tutta una finta, è tutta scena
b. (claim) → pretesa
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
pretend
(priˈtend) verb1. to make believe that something is true, in play. Let's pretend that this room is a cave!; Pretend to be a lion!; He wasn't really angry – he was only pretending.
2. to try to make it appear (that something is true), in order to deceive. He pretended that he had a headache; She was only pretending to be asleep; I pretended not to understand.
preˈtence , (American) preˈtense (-s) noun (an) act of pretending. Under the pretence of friendship, he persuaded her to get into his car.
false pretences acts or behaviour intended to deceive. He got the money under false pretences.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.