pretence (redirected from pretences)

pre·tence  (prtns, pr-tns)

n. Chiefly British

Variant of pretense.

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pretence or US pretense

Noun

1. an action or claim that could mislead people into believing something which is not true: Daniel made a pretence of carefully reading it, the pretence that many of the unemployed are on `training schemes'

2. a false display; affectation: she abandoned all pretence of work and watched me

3. a claim, esp. a false one, to a right, title, or distinction

4. make-believe

5. a pretext: they were placed in a ghetto on the pretence that they would be safe there

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	pretence - a false or unsupportable quality pretension, pretense 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" guise, pretext, pretense semblance, gloss, color, colour - an outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately misleading; "he hoped his claims would have a semblance of authenticity"; "he tried to give his falsehood the gloss of moral sanction"; "the situation soon took on a different color"
	3.	pretence - pretending with intention to deceive dissembling, feigning, pretense deception, misrepresentation, deceit - a misleading falsehood 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 make-believe, pretense 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" pretending, pretense, feigning, simulation dissimulation, deception, dissembling, deceit - the act of deceiving 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" affectation, affectedness, mannerism, pose - a deliberate pretense or exaggerated display masquerade - making a false outward show; "a beggar's masquerade of wealth"

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pretence

noun 1. deception, invention, sham, fabrication, acting, faking, simulation, deceit, feigning, charade, make-believe, trickery, falsehood, subterfuge, fakery << OPPOSITE candour

noun 2. show, posturing, artifice, affectation, display, appearance, posing, façade, veneer, pretentiousness, hokum (slang), chiefly U.S., Canad. << OPPOSITE reality

noun 3. pretext, claim, excuse, show, cover, mask, veil, cloak, guise, façade, masquerade, semblance, ruse, garb, wile

Translations

pretence, pretense (US) [prɪˈtɛns] n (= claim) → pretensión f (= pretext); pretexto (= make-believe); fingimiento;

on or under the pretence of doing sth → bajo or con el pretexto de hacer algo;

she is devoid of all pretence → no es pretenciosa

pretence (US), pretense [prɪˈtɛns] n (= claim) → prétention f (= pretext); prétexte m;

she is devoid of all pretence → elle n'est pas du tout prétentieuse;

to make a pretence of doing → faire semblant de faire;

on or under the pretence of doing sth → sous prétexte de faire qch;

under false pretences → sous des prétextes fallacieux

pretence (US) pretense [prɪˈtɛns] n (= false appearance) → Vortäuschung f;

under false pretences → unter Vorspiegelung falscher Tatsachen;

she is devoid of all pretence → sie ist völlig natürlich;

to make a pretence of doing sth → vortäuschen, etw zu tun

pretence (US), pretense [prɪˈtɛns] n (= claim) → pretesa (= pretext); pretesto, scusa;

to make a pretence of doing → far finta di fare;

on or under the pretence of doing sth → con il pretesto or la scusa di fare qc;

she is devoid of all pretence → non si nasconde dietro false apparenze