variants
or pretences
1
as in facades
a display of emotion or behavior that is insincere or intended to deceive
her display of bravado was just a pretense
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rights
an entitlement to something
this book on gardening makes no pretense at completeness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pretenses
Yet even as Starbucks attempts to refocus on coffee by moving away from desserts masquerading as drinks, newer chains are making no pretenses about selling beverages that can easily tide someone over through a mealtime or two.
—
Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026
Johnson eventually pleaded no contest to three counts of false pretenses between $1,000 and $20,000.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
She is also charged with one count of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult of between $1,000 and $20,000 and one count of false pretenses of between $1,000 and $20,000.
—Paul Egan, Freep.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Toronto might be considered the New York City of Canada, but Bo Bichette is under no pretenses that playing for the Blue Jays is comparable to playing for one of the baseball teams in the Big Apple.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 21 Jan. 2026
Aurora Municipal Court Judge Brian Whitney issued an order last year pausing more than 300 cases in which attorneys challenged issues under the same pretenses as those before the Supreme Court.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 16 Jan. 2026
They were booked into Contra Costa County jail on charges of grand theft of an animal, theft by false pretenses and conspiracy.
—Jason Green, Mercury News, 31 Dec. 2025
The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime said in a May report that women from more than 20 African countries had been recruited under false pretences to make drones for Russia’s war.
—Reuters 16 Hr Ago, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
The audience meets Charles, who is completing yet another stint in jail, this time for false pretenses and evading arrest.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 6 Nov. 2025
Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026
Johnson eventually pleaded no contest to three counts of false pretenses between $1,000 and $20,000.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
She is also charged with one count of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult of between $1,000 and $20,000 and one count of false pretenses of between $1,000 and $20,000.
—Paul Egan, Freep.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Toronto might be considered the New York City of Canada, but Bo Bichette is under no pretenses that playing for the Blue Jays is comparable to playing for one of the baseball teams in the Big Apple.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 21 Jan. 2026
Aurora Municipal Court Judge Brian Whitney issued an order last year pausing more than 300 cases in which attorneys challenged issues under the same pretenses as those before the Supreme Court.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 16 Jan. 2026
They were booked into Contra Costa County jail on charges of grand theft of an animal, theft by false pretenses and conspiracy.
—Jason Green, Mercury News, 31 Dec. 2025
The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime said in a May report that women from more than 20 African countries had been recruited under false pretences to make drones for Russia’s war.
—Reuters 16 Hr Ago, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
The audience meets Charles, who is completing yet another stint in jail, this time for false pretenses and evading arrest.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 6 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretenses
Noun
-
The alert follows multiple unconfirmed social media reports appearing to capture Iranian Shahed drones slamming into the facades of large buildings near Bahrain’s capital, Manama.—
Dan Mangan,Leslie Josephs,Spencer Kimball,CJ Haddad,Justin Papp,Jordan Novet,
CNBC,
28 Feb. 2026
-
These aren’t just pretty facades.—
Lauren Schuster,
Kansas City Star,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Before these recent protests, people who had taken to the streets had had very specific, clear humanistic and civil-rights demands.—
Cora Engelbrecht,
New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2026
-
This preemptive legislation is an effort to protect our democracy and in line with existing voting rights laws built on the premise that the right to vote must be both defended and protected.—
Kica Matos,
Hartford Courant,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Both marques returned to the competition this year in new guises.—
Viju Mathew,
Robb Report,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Populism in all its guises surfaces problems but rarely solves them.—
Stephen Kotkin,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
There was no immediate response to the claims from Pakistani officials.—
ABDUL QAHAR AFGHAN,
Arkansas Online,
2 Mar. 2026
-
While Iran’s coordination with and sponsorship of groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas are well known, Trump’s claims about Tehran’s ongoing development of nuclear weapons systems are less established — and the administration has provided little evidence to back them up.—
Kevin Rector,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The production and stage will be three times the size of the comedians’ normal stages and will be managed by the same team that produces stadium shows for acts like Los Bukis and Bad Bunny.—
Deputy Entertainment,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Only a few years ago, the NIH workforce was steadily growing, from roughly 17,700 employees in fiscal year 2019 to around 21,100 in fiscal 2024, federal data shows.—
Rachana Pradhan,
CNN Money,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
By the early 1950s, many clerics had come to see the Pahlavi monarchy, for all its secular pretensions, as a manageable partner.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The war with Ukraine has revealed the yawning gap between Russia’s pretensions and its capabilities.—
George F. Will,
Washington Post,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The show will be available to stream with a regular Hulu subscription Sunday, the day after a new episode airs.—
Kaycee Sloan,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
28 Feb. 2026
-
The season finale airs Thursday night.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Both moves highlight the dangers the current conflict poses to the region’s economic lifeblood, and by extension the global economy.—
Dominic Dudley,
semafor.com,
2 Mar. 2026
-
The subjects appear to offer their likenesses without reserving an ounce of modesty; confidence and audacity steel their faces and poses.—
Bryan Barcena,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pretenses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretenses. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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