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.

Yet he did not muster even the pretense of evidence that they pose an “imminent threat.”

From Slate • Feb. 28, 2026

The question then becomes: Will fans still tune into college games when there’s no pretense the players are students?

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 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

The way that any actor could, with a look, destroy the artifice, the pretense of reality on film.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny