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Showing results for pretense. Search instead for were+tense.
Definitions

pretense

[pri-tens, pree-tens] / prɪˈtɛns, ˈpri tɛns /


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.

This is the kind of art that would find a suitable home in a crypto king’s Miami mansion, and whose pretense of depth can’t conceal its wallowing in the shallows.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 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

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

Francie, who had abandoned the pretense of study, picked up McGarrity’s last two words.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith




Vocabulary lists containing pretense


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