variants
or pretence
1
as in affectation
the quality or state of appearing or trying to appear more important or more valuable than is the case
she seemed to be a very down-to-earth woman who was completely free of pretense
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in airs
a display of emotion or behavior that is insincere or intended to deceive
her display of bravado was just a pretense
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in claim
an entitlement to something
this book on gardening makes no pretense at completeness
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4
as in arrogance
an exaggerated sense of one's importance that shows itself in the making of excessive or unjustified claims
the pretense of that woman in thinking that the other hotel guests should be inconvenienced just for her
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of pretense
Theft by false pretenses: Between midnight on June 1 and noon on Sept. 16, someone contacted a Saratoga resident via social media claiming to work as a financial investor and instructed the victim to send several bank transfers with a total loss of $1.2 million.
—
Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 4 Oct. 2024
Therein lies the other critical element of the equation: a lack of pretense and fuss which does not forsake sophistication.
—Caroline Reilly, Robb Report, 25 Oct. 2024
Legislation against sagging—modern morality ordinances, passed in municipalities in states such as New Jersey, Illinois, and Michigan, and across the South—became a possible pretense for arrests.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2024
Theft by false pretenses: Between midnight on June 1 and noon on Sept. 16, someone contacted a Saratoga resident via social media claiming to work as a financial investor.
—Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pretense 
Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 4 Oct. 2024
Therein lies the other critical element of the equation: a lack of pretense and fuss which does not forsake sophistication.
—Caroline Reilly, Robb Report, 25 Oct. 2024
Legislation against sagging—modern morality ordinances, passed in municipalities in states such as New Jersey, Illinois, and Michigan, and across the South—became a possible pretense for arrests.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2024
Theft by false pretenses: Between midnight on June 1 and noon on Sept. 16, someone contacted a Saratoga resident via social media claiming to work as a financial investor.
—Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pretense
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretense
Noun
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His eccentricities — once easily dismissed as the affectations of a lonely man — read maniacal.Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2024
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Strangely, the results come off as a directorial affectation, a willful cramping of her style.Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2024
Noun
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The department’s detectives then found nearly identical claims for two different cars to other insurance companies, each filed with similar videos as evidence of damage.Grant Stringer, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
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The company has not identified any significant legal proceedings or claims that could materially affect its financial condition or results of operations.Quartz Bot, Quartz, 8 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Dastmalchian gets to play it all — disbelief, arrogance, grieving, terrified — sometimes in the same moment.Jenelle Riley, Variety, 31 Oct. 2024
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These things are a big investment of time and to have not one, but two of them that might otherwise have had a reasonable expectation of success — probably arrogance on my part — but still, many times an author who gets published once can get published a second time.Choire Sicha, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2024
Noun
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The past month in Lebanon, like the past year in Gaza, has demonstrated that Israel’s leaders have no idealistic pretensions about establishing a new political order in Lebanon or in the Strip.Mohanad Hage Ali, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2024
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The chief theme, of course, is art itself, which wafts into pretension all too easily.Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2024
Noun
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That balancing act has forced Starbucks to cut back on niche menu items like the olive-oil infused Oleato drinks, focusing instead on popular staples like its Refreshers, which have gained popularity among younger customers.Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 15 Nov. 2024
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For me, the act of hunting itself is less of the draw.Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 14 Nov. 2024
Noun
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While picking up genuine concerns reported by American and international media in what has been a contentious and violent US election cycle, the coverage and conversation appears geared to telegraph the superiority of China’s own political system.Simone McCarthy, CNN, 31 Oct. 2024
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Even in foods where New Yorkers claim eternal superiority, L.A. just does it better.Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024
Noun
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That includes shows in Denver at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16 (at Ball Arena) and Colorado Springs, Sunday, Nov. 17 (Broadmoor World Arena).John Wenzel, The Denver Post, 14 Nov. 2024
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At the Arrowverse’s peak, with multiple shows on the air, DC Superhero series could take on this immediacy, without the self-consciousness of having to sell audiences on superhero shows.Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Interest expense for the quarter was $0, down from $8.1 million in the previous year, due to the assumption of outstanding debt by the Acquirer in connection with the Merger.Quartz Bot, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024
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Many assumptions about the negative impacts of low fertility on the economy are likewise either overstated or unsupported by evidence.Vegard Skirbekk, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near pretense
Cite this Entry
“Pretense.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretense. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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