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.

Shredded was the pretense that men’s Division I basketball and football players are amateurs—and the NCAA’s ability to regulate sports.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

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

From Slate • Feb. 28, 2026

It was an uncompromising response without any pretense the administration would rely on independent investigations of the event, video of which quickly circulated online, gripping the nation.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2026

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

Among the variety of animals I keep in cages in the garden I have four monkeys and a bat-eared fox that will escape on the slightest pretense from the boy who cleans out the cages.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver