Pretense — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

the act of giving a false appearance

pretending with intention to deceive

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/pɹˈiːtɛns/

🇬🇧British English

/pɹɪtˈɛns/

🇮🇳Indian English

/pɹɪtˈɛns/

2 syllables Say it as /pɹˈiːtɛns/.

Examples

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

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

make-believe pretence pretext pretending guise dissembling simulation feigning pretension

Parts of Speech

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

Word Forms

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

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Vorwand

der Akt, einen falschen Eindruck zu erwecken

🇫🇷French

prétexte

le fait de donner une fausse apparence

🇪🇸Spanish

pretensión

el acto de dar una apariencia falsa

🇮🇹Italian

finzione

l'atto di dare una falsa apparenza

🇳🇱Dutch

voorwendsel

de handeling van het geven van een valse schijn

🇵🇹Portuguese

pretensão

o ato de dar uma falsa aparência

🇷🇺Russian

притворство

действие по созданию ложного внешнего вида

India

🇮🇳Hindi

दिखावा

झूठा दिखावा करने की क्रिया

🇧🇩Bengali

ভান

একটি মিথ্যা চেহারা দেওয়ার কাজ

🇮🇳Tamil

பாசாங்கு

தவறான தோற்றத்தை கொடுக்கும் செயல்

🇮🇳Telugu

నెపం

తప్పుడు రూపాన్ని ఇచ్చే చర్య

🇮🇳Marathi

ढोंग

खोटे स्वरूप देण्याची कृती

🇮🇳Gujarati

ઢોંગ

ખોટો દેખાવ આપવાની ક્રિયા

🇮🇳Kannada

ಸೋಗು

ಸುಳ್ಳು ನೋಟವನ್ನು ನೀಡುವ ಕ್ರಿಯೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ഭാവം

തെറ്റായ രൂപം നൽകുന്ന പ്രവൃത്തി

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਦਿਖਾਵਾ

ਇੱਕ ਝੂਠੀ ਦਿੱਖ ਦੇਣ ਦਾ ਕੰਮ

🇵🇰Urdu

دکھاوا

جھوٹی شکل دینے کا عمل

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

虚伪

做出虚假外表的行为

🇯🇵Japanese

ふり

偽りの外見を与える行為

🇰🇷Korean

구실

거짓된 모습을 보이는 행위

🇻🇳Vietnamese

giả vờ

hành động đưa ra một sự xuất hiện sai lầm

🇹🇭Thai

แกล้งทำเป็น

การกระทำให้ปรากฏเป็นเท็จ

🇮🇩Indonesian

sambilan

tindakan memberikan penampilan palsu

🇵🇭Filipino

pagkukunwari

ang gawa ng pagbibigay ng huwad na anyo

🇲🇾Malay

berpura-pura

perbuatan memberi rupa palsu

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

ادعاء

فعل إعطاء مظهر كاذب

🇮🇷Persian

تظاهر

عمل دادن ظاهر دروغین

🇹🇷Turkish

iddia

sahte bir görünüm verme eylemi

🇮🇱Hebrew

הַעֲמָדַת פָּנִים

מעשה מראה שווא

Test Yourself1 / 3

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

The primary meaning of 'pretense' is 'the act of giving a false appearance'.

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

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

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

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

Community Poll1 / 6

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

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'pretense' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

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

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

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

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

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

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Never

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

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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