pretense
12
6.0
- noun
- /prɪˈtɛns/
- US
:
fingimiento
- Children often enjoy the pretense of being superheroes during playtime.
- pretense play
- pretense behavior
- pretense behavior in children
And no amount of pretense that he is Superman is going to change that.
- And no amount of pretense that he is Superman is going to change that.
Examples
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After a while, I gave up the pretense and set the book aside.
Fiction book (1997) -
We have to keep up the pretense.
-
Can we drop all this pretense?
-
Tell me, was it all a pretense?
-
For getting all dressed up like this, for going along with the pretense like everyone else.
Fiction book (1998) -
Especially when she made just a pretense of kissing back.
Fiction book (1999) -
Let's drop the pretense, Mrs. Madigan.
-
Tess stopped the pretense of going over her notes and said, "Stop staring."
Fiction book (1996) -
Cut the pretense.
-
"For the showman, all is pretense for entertainment rather than for deception."
Academic text (2016)
Synonyms
72
5.1
A way of showing yourself that hides problems to make others think well of you
33
3.2
Play in which people pretend and imagine stories and roles
25
5.8
A false show of feeling or action meant to trick people
4
7.5
A false act or story that tries to trick people, often to make them laugh
1
4.1
A way of acting to make others believe something that is not true
1
7.4
Pretending to have an illness or feeling to trick others
Antonyms
Compounds
How Real
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Pretense comes from the same root as pretend, which originally meant 'to put forward' an idea. So when children play in pretense they 'put forward' an imagined role or story to make play feel real.