Pretence — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a false or unsupportable quality

an artful or simulated semblance

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/pɹˈiːtɛns/

🇬🇧British English

/pɹɪtˈɛns/

🇮🇳Indian English

/pɹɪtˈɛns/

2 syllables Say it as /pɹˈiːtɛns/.

Examples

under the guise of friendship he betrayed them
his conformity was only pretending

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

simulation make-believe pretense pretext pretending dissembling guise feigning pretension

Parts of Speech

noun	a false or unsupportable quality
noun	an artful or simulated semblance “under the guise of friendship he betrayed them”
noun	pretending with intention to deceive
noun	imaginative intellectual play
noun	the act of giving a false appearance “his conformity was only pretending”

Word Forms

pretend	verb	put forward a claim and assert right or possession of
pretentious	adjective	making claim to or creating an appearance of (often undeserved) importance or distinction
feign	verb	make believe with the intent to deceive
dissemble	verb	make believe with the intent to deceive
make-believe	adjective	imagined as in a play
simulate	verb	make a pretence of

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Vorwand

eine falsche oder unerträgliche Eigenschaft

🇫🇷French

prétexte

une qualité fausse ou insupportable

🇪🇸Spanish

pretensión

una cualidad falsa o insoportable

🇮🇹Italian

finzione

una qualità falsa o insostenibile

🇳🇱Dutch

voorwendsel

een valse of niet-ondersteunbare kwaliteit

🇵🇹Portuguese

pretensão

uma qualidade falsa ou insuportável

🇷🇺Russian

притворство

ложное или неподдерживаемое качество

India

🇮🇳Hindi

दिखावा

एक गलत या असमर्थनीय गुणवत्ता

🇧🇩Bengali

ভান

একটি মিথ্যা বা সমর্থনযোগ্য গুণমান

🇮🇳Tamil

பாசாங்கு

தவறான அல்லது ஆதரிக்க முடியாத தரம்

🇮🇳Telugu

నెపం

తప్పుడు లేదా మద్దతు లేని నాణ్యత

🇮🇳Marathi

ढोंग

खोटी किंवा असमर्थनीय गुणवत्ता

🇮🇳Gujarati

ઢોંગ

ખોટી અથવા અસહાય ગુણવત્તા

🇮🇳Kannada

ಸೋಗು

ತಪ್ಪು ಅಥವಾ ಸಮರ್ಥನೀಯವಲ್ಲದ ಗುಣಮಟ್ಟ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ഭാവം

തെറ്റായ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ പിന്തുണയ്‌ക്കാനാവാത്ത ഗുണനിലവാരം

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਦਿਖਾਵਾ

ਇੱਕ ਗਲਤ ਜਾਂ ਅਸਮਰਥ ਗੁਣਵੱਤਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

دکھاوا

ایک غلط یا ناقابل حمایت معیار

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

虚伪

错误或无法支持的品质

🇯🇵Japanese

ふり

虚偽の、または支持できない品質

🇰🇷Korean

구실

허위 또는 지원 불가능한 품질

🇻🇳Vietnamese

giả vờ

chất lượng sai hoặc không thể hỗ trợ

🇹🇭Thai

แกล้งทำเป็น

คุณภาพที่เป็นเท็จหรือไม่รองรับ

🇮🇩Indonesian

sambilan

kualitas yang salah atau tidak dapat didukung

🇵🇭Filipino

pagkukunwari

isang huwad o hindi sinusuportahang kalidad

🇲🇾Malay

berpura-pura

kualiti palsu atau tidak boleh disokong

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

ادعاء

نوعية زائفة أو غير قابلة للدعم

🇮🇷Persian

تظاهر

کیفیت نادرست یا غیرقابل پشتیبانی

🇹🇷Turkish

iddia

yanlış veya desteklenemez bir kalite

🇮🇱Hebrew

הַעֲמָדַת פָּנִים

איכות שגויה או בלתי נתמכת

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'pretence'?

The primary meaning of 'pretence' is 'a false or unsupportable quality'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'pretence' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'pretence' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'pretence' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'pretence' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'pretence' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'pretence' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'pretence' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'pretence' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'pretence' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'pretence' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted