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.

For those of my generation who were fortunate enough to go to college, it did expose much of the pretense of higher education and made us admit as much.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 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

By the end, he abandons any pretense of legal reasoning, quoting lines from the majority and waving them away as “misleading,” without any explanation.

From Slate • Nov. 20, 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

There was no pretense at hedges here, no pretense at separation or privacy, just low buildings side by side amid a scattering of stunted shrubs and cashew trees.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie