pretense

pre·tense  (prtns, pr-tns)

n.

1. The act of pretending; a false appearance or action intended to deceive.

2. A false or studied show; an affectation: a pretense of nonchalance.

3. A professed but feigned reason or excuse; a pretext: under false pretenses.

4. Something imagined or pretended.

5. Mere show without reality; outward appearance.

6. A right asserted with or without foundation; a claim. See Synonyms at claim.

7. The quality or state of being pretentious; ostentation.

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[Middle English, from Old French pretensse, from Medieval Latin *praetnsa, from Late Latin, feminine of praetnsus, alteration of Latin praetentus, past participle of praetendere, to pretend, assert; see pretend.]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	pretense - the act of giving a false appearance; "his conformity was only pretending" pretending, feigning, simulation, pretence 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"
	2.	pretense - pretending with intention to deceive dissembling, feigning, pretence 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
	3.	pretense - imaginative intellectual play make-believe, pretence imagery, imaging, mental imagery, imagination - the ability to form mental images of things or events; "he could still hear her in his imagination"
	4.	pretense - a false or unsupportable quality pretence, pretension artificiality - the quality of being produced by people and not occurring naturally
	5.	pretense - an artful or simulated semblance; "under the guise of friendship he betrayed them" guise, pretence, pretext 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"