pretense
noun/prɪˈtens/
/ˈpriːtens/
(North American English) (British English pretence)
- [uncountable, singular] the act of behaving in a particular way, in order to make other people believe something that is not true
- Their friendliness was only pretense.
- pretense of doing something By the end of the evening she had abandoned all pretense of being interested.
- pretense of something He made no pretense of great musical knowledge.
- pretense that… She was unable to keep up the pretense that she loved him.
- [uncountable, countable, usually singular] (formal or literary) a claim that you have a particular quality or skill
- pretense (to something) A judge should have at least some pretense to objectivity.
- pretense (to doing something) I make no pretense to being an expert on the subject.
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pretense