PRETENCES Synonyms: 62 Similar and Opposite Words

pretenses

noun

variants or pretences

plural of pretense

as in facades

a display of emotion or behavior that is insincere or intended to deceive her display of bravado was just a pretense

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in rights

an entitlement to something this book on gardening makes no pretense at completeness

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of pretenses Trimpey also faces a felony charge of obtaining money by false pretenses. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 2 July 2026 At school, Jin’s oldest daughter, Jane, teams up with a Black classmate, one of few, to expose their neighbors’ prejudices and pretenses. — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 29 June 2026 Fernando Navarro, 53, of Minneapolis, is facing four counts of felony fraud for collecting nearly $70,000 in funds from Minnesota's medical assistance program under false pretenses. — Riley Moser, CBS News, 23 June 2026 However, according to Ryan, Hernandez was a fraud, allegedly seeking money under false pretenses. — Allison Degrushe, StyleCaster, 18 June 2026 For all the Court’s pretenses—all of its insistence on the rule of law, precedent, and good faith—many critics and supporters of the Roberts Court see the institution as an appendage of the Republican Party. — Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026 Officials allege the group sold the oil under false pretenses and used the profits to sustain and expand the original food fraud scheme. — Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2026 In the documentary, a man running the shelter, who identified himself as Charles Lubajja, tells the undercover reporters that the shelter exists primarily to make money from social media users abroad under false pretenses. — Christopher Edwards, PEOPLE, 13 May 2026 Marks was also charged with obtaining property under false pretenses and misdemeanor larceny. — Charlotte Observer, 6 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pretenses

Noun

Building facades don't just look weathered and soot-stained, graffiti is scrawled on them and posters are peeling off them.

— Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
With rusted machinery and derelict buildings, the quiet silhouette of Kennecott's faded crimson facades are all that remains of this town weathered by harsh Alaskan winters.

— Kieron Marchese, Architectural Digest, 27 July 2026

Definition of facades

Noun

Industrial companies and technology firms have already secured rights to the electricity generated at the site.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 2 Aug. 2026
Wiener, 56, has built his campaign around a legislative record on housing, climate change, LGBT rights, and public safety.

— Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of rights

Noun

The piece urges critical inquiry into such claims, emphasizing that human oversight, not AI's inherent deviousness, can be a sizable contributor.

— Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2026
The Ethics Committee, a bipartisan panel that investigates claims of misconduct involving House members, did not say if Miller’s request is what triggered the investigation.

— Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of claims

Noun

Additionally, Apple and MLS came to that agreement when MLS was primarily in a summer timeframe – a stretch when there’s less TV competition for live sports (and new shows) beyond baseball.

— John Cassillo, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2026
And that rate stayed above 1 out of every 1,000 for the next two seasons, CDC data shows.

— Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of shows

Noun

Like Paul Schrader’s 1982 version of the latter, this is an upscale genre piece whose pretensions towards Art are upfront, starting with a quotation from no less than Schopenhauer.

— Dennis Harvey, Variety, 30 July 2026
At 61, unaligned to any party faction and with no pretensions to the highest office, the Scot would represent little threat to Burnham.

— Ian King, CNBC, 15 July 2026

Definition of pretensions

Noun

Alice is not a person who puts on airs to please others; quite the opposite.

— Erin Qualey, Vulture, 27 July 2026
How to watch Shark Week 2026 Shark Week 2026 airs on the Discovery Channel while streaming on Max and Discovery+ from Sunday, July 26, through Saturday, August 1.

— Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 26 July 2026

Definition of airs

Noun

Models will pose nude, and the poses range from two to 20 minutes.

— Hema Sivanandam, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2026
On July 28, Mark Zuckerberg published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal arguing that superintelligence should be distributed as widely as possible and that concentrating it in a handful of institutions is the greatest risk AI poses to humanity.

— Anisha Sircar, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026

Definition of poses

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“Pretenses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pretenses. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of pretenses

noun

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