How to Use under/on the pretense of in a Sentence

under/on the pretense of

phrase

• These bills were passed under the pretense of protecting people, but only harm has come.
  — The Learning Network, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025
• Debt is a power relationship built on the pretense of equality.
  — Astra Taylor, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2020
• Police said both victims were lured to the addresses at which they were killed on the pretense of selling marijuana.
  — Peter Hermann, Washington Post, 11 July 2023
• Liberals, apparently, got up close to voters under the pretense of handing out food and water.
  — Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2024
• With four of their servants, they were lined up under the pretense of taking a photograph to quiet rumors that the family had escaped.
  — Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2023
• The government anticipates that fraudsters may call borrowers under the pretense of helping with the process for a fee.
  — Quartz, 22 Oct. 2022
• Basic human rights are being encroached upon under the pretense of prosperity and wealth.
  — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 18 Sep. 2024
• Police said Hussein would then ask to use the victim's phone, on the pretense of needing to look up directions or connect to the Uber app.
  — Patrick Smith, NBC News, 13 Dec. 2024
• Detectives learned the pair visited the victim’s residence under the pretense of helping clean, the agency said.
  — Brian Bell, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 June 2025
• Player 456) and the secret island where luckless souls are murdered in the name of rich people’s fun, under the pretense of playing a game.
  — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 2024
• The report alleges that Weinberg would lure women to his home under the pretense of a photoshoot before assaulting them.
  — Samuel Braslow, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Aug. 2022
• The moral panic was misplaced, but not unusual—part of a long national tradition of culture wars waged under the pretense of politics.
  — Alan Siegel, The Atlantic, 11 June 2025
• Defending an art form to those who seem determined to disrupt it for profit and under the pretense of innovation feels futile to some degree, so this piece isn’t for them.
  — Amanda McLoughlin, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2022
• Right-wing critics have accused these offices of engaging in censorship campaigns against conservatives, under the pretense of fighting fake news.
  — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 2 May 2025
• The sheriff confirmed Litton also went in June to an Adventist school in Chico under the pretense of enrolling a child.
  — Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 17 Jan. 2025
• Though Malukas’s signing was announced under the pretense of a multi-year deal last fall, the rookie confirmed that not everything is buttoned up with two races left in his rookie season.
  — Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Aug. 2022
• We’re stuck with a story that feels shapeless, almost improvisatory, as if taking on social trends under the pretense of seeking authenticity.
  — Armond White, National Review, 9 Aug. 2023
• The Biden administration is happy to spend billions of dollars to prop up electric vehicle production, on the pretense of fighting climate change.
  — Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 6 June 2024
• The 57-page lawsuit alleges that Ibrahim was lured to the gym under the pretense of a challenge and then attacked by Watson, a co-owner of the gym and two unidentified men.
  — Theo Karantsalis, Miami Herald, 13 June 2025
• Nasyrova went to the home of the victim, an eyelash technician, under the pretense of needing immediate help, prosecutors said during the trial.
  — Tim Perone, NBC News, 9 Feb. 2023
• Moore befriended Shakespeare in 2008 under the pretense of writing a book about him, but the project never materialized.
  — Nicole Acosta, People.com, 18 Apr. 2025
• The indictment alleges that Combs and his associates lured female victims, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship.
  — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2024
• During that time, the statement said, Waithe allegedly often asked to use female athletes’ cellphones under the pretense of filming their form at practice and competitions.
  — BostonGlobe.com, 7 Apr. 2021
• In the footage, which was published on Vimeo, on Friday evening, in four different installments, officers descend on Nichols, under the pretense of a traffic stop.
  — Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2023
• UConn is already closing small classes and programs on the pretense of efficiency, while asking faculty to teach increasingly larger classes.
  — Letters To The Editor, Hartford Courant, 1 June 2025
• The indictment, unsealed last week, alleges that Combs and his associates lured female victims, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship.
  — Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2024
• Goudy was accused of helping lure the man into an ambush under the pretense of buying drugs, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported at the time.
  — oregonlive, 4 Feb. 2022
• The federal indictment alleges that Combs and his associates lured female victims, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship.
  — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2025
• Not only did Trudeau unilaterally freeze more than 200 bank accounts under the pretense of fighting the protests; his government froze the bank accounts of those who donated to the convoy.
  — Nate Hochman, National Review, 26 Feb. 2022
• As if spending 25 years in prison wasn't punishment enough, Manfredi's boss exiles him to Tulsa, Oklahoma, under the pretense of a new assignment.
  — Irene Richardson, Country Living, 13 Nov. 2022