pretense

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It is so strange to see serious people pretending to be doing serious work in this serious place, when all pretense of intellectual seriousness has fallen away.

From Slate • Dec. 17, 2025

Five days earlier, at around 7 a.m., the couple had crossed the border into Kazakhstan in a hired Toyota Hiace van, under the pretense of taking a vacation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025

Ironically, the situation now is a bastard version of one reform favored by free market types: paying athletes without any pretense that they are real students.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025

His publicists invited her under the pretense of a business dinner with Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour, then White surprised Dobrev instead.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2025

She liked that Two Step didn’t feel like he had to keep up some pretense of bravery around her.

From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older