under false pretenses
idiom
: by saying something that is not true, by pretending something, etc.
A reporter obtained documents from the company under false pretenses.
Examples of under false pretenses in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This is a war being sold to the American people under false pretenses.
—
Brandon Downs, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
Nepal has said scores of its citizens were recruited under false pretenses to join Russia’s war effort and has called on Moscow to stop the practice.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
The war had been sold under false pretenses.
—Dana Taylor, USA Today, 21 Nov. 2025
Directed by Alia Azamat Ashkenazi, a two-time United Nations Award winner, the film explores the haunting legacy of a real-life government scheme that displaced thousands of children from La Réunion to rural France under false pretenses.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for under false pretenses
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Brandon Downs, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
Nepal has said scores of its citizens were recruited under false pretenses to join Russia’s war effort and has called on Moscow to stop the practice.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
The war had been sold under false pretenses.
—Dana Taylor, USA Today, 21 Nov. 2025
Directed by Alia Azamat Ashkenazi, a two-time United Nations Award winner, the film explores the haunting legacy of a real-life government scheme that displaced thousands of children from La Réunion to rural France under false pretenses.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for under false pretenses
Cite this Entry
“Under false pretenses.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/under%20false%20pretenses. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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