Pretence

Definition: Pretence

Pretence

Noun

1. A false or unsupportable quality.

2. An artful or simulated semblance; "under the guise of friendship he betrayed them".

3. Pretending with intention to deceive.

4. Imaginative intellectual play.

5. The act of giving a false appearance; "his conformity was only pretending".

Date "pretence" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1258. (references)

Synonyms: Pretence

Synonyms: dissembling (n), feigning (n), guise (n), make-believe (n), pretending (n), pretense (n), pretension (n), pretext (n), simulation (n). (additional references)

Crosswords: Pretence

English words defined with "pretence": assume ♦ feign ♦ sham, simulate. (references)

Specialty definitions using "pretence": Alderman ♦ BLIND ♦ Come the Religious Dodge ♦ FAM LAY, FIRE PRIGGERS, Fuga ad Salices ♦ Good and All ♦ IRISH TOYLES ♦ Khorassan ♦ Lupus et Agnus ♦ MacFlecknoe, MALINGEROR ♦ Palmistry, PINCH. (references)

Domain	Title
Books	Delusions of Dominance: A Critique of the Theory of Large-Scale Industrial Dominance and of the Pretence of Government to "Restructure" Britis (reference) Pacific Pretence (reference) Pretence and contempt : life in a Filipino brothel (reference) Pretence of love (reference) Pretence, the Vengeful Heart, My Hearts a Dancer: Three Volumes in One (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Author	Quotation
C. Simmons	Agitation, under pretence of reform, with a view to overturn revealed truth and order, is the worst kind of mischief.
James Russell Lowell	Sincerity is impossible, unless it pervade the whole being, and the pretence of it saps the very foundation of character.
President Thomas Jefferson	If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Author	Date	Quotation
John Locke	1690	This makes it lawful for a man to kill a thief, who has not in the least hurt him, nor declared any design upon his life, any farther than, by the use of force, so to get him in his power, as to take away his money, or what he pleases, from him; because using force, where he has no right, to get me into his power, let his pretence be what it will, I have no reason to suppose, that he, who would take away my liberty, would not, when he had me in his power, take away every thing else. (Second Treatise of Government)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Title	Author	Quote
Emma	Austen, Jane	As to the pretence of trying her native air, I look upon that as a mere excuse.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Lexicography	Devil's Dictionary	ALDERMAN, n. An ingenious criminal who covers his secret thieving with a pretence of open marauding.
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

"Pretence" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Pretence" is used about 447 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	100%	447	12,980

Expressions using "pretence": false pretence ♦ make no pretence to ♦ make pretence of ♦ make pretence of doing ♦ on the pretence that ♦ under the pretence of. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "pretence": Pretence-hall.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Language		Translations for "pretence"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		pretendim (claim, contention, pretense), shtirje (affectation, artificiality, camp, dissimulation, humbug, pretense, pretension, sham). (various references)

Arabic		‏حجة (allegation, argument, case, document, excuse, instrument, plea, pretension, pretext, proofing, reasoning), ‏تظاهر (affect, assume, counterfeit, demonstrate, dissemble, dissimulate, fake, feign, feint, make believe, march, pose, posture, pretend, put on, seem, sham, show, simulate, simulation), ‏زعم (allegation, allege, feign, pretend, say), ‏ذريعة (cloak, expedience, expediency, plea, pretension, pretext, resource, stalking horse, subterfuge). (various references)

Bulgarian		неискреност (humbug, insincerity, obliquity, tortuousity, unction), преструвка (affectation, dissimulation, feint, pose, pretense, pretension, sham, simulacrum), преструване (affectation, disguise, dissemblance, make believe, pretension, sham, show, simulation), претекст (alibi, color, colour, come off, excuse, peg, plea, pretense, pretext, put off, salvo, stalking horse, subterfuge), претенция (claim, counterclaim, pretense, pretension), предлог (excuse, handle, plea, preposition, pretense, pretext), измама (bunco, bunko, cheat, chouse, cozenage, cross, deceit, deception, delusion, do, double cross, double dealing, doubling, dupery, falsity, fiddle, flam, foul play, frame up, fraud, gaff, gag, gouge, guile, gyp, hankey-pankey, hanky panky, have on, hoax, hocus pocus, humbug, imposition, imposture, indirection, jiggery pokery, jockeying, jugglery, kid, lemon, overreach, plant, put on, rig, rip off, roguery, sell, sellout, sham, shuffle, simulacrum, skin game, spoof, swindle, take in, thimblerig, trickery, twist). (various references)

Catalan		drets (claim, presumption). (various references)

Dutch		onbescheidenheid (arrogance, assumingness, high-handedness, presumption), aanmatiging (arrogance, assumingness, high-handedness, overbearingness, presumption). (various references)

Esperanto		pretendo (claim, presumption), pretendemo (assumingness, overbearingness, presumption), malmodesteco (arrogance, assumingness, high-handedness, presumption). (various references)

Finnish		teeskentely (affectation, make-believe), estely (excuse, objection, pretext). (various references)

French		prétexte (pretext), prétention (pretense, pretension, pretentiousness), excuse (pretext). (various references)

German		Vortäuschung (fake, fakery, pretense, simulation). (various references)

Greek		πρόσχημα (blind, excuse, guise, pretext, stalking horse), προσποίηση (artificiality, dissimulation, feint, make believe, sham, simulation). (various references)

Hebrew		תרוץ (excuse, pretext), פרט� סי�" (pretension), �"תימרות (boastfulness, pretension), �"עמ�"ת פ� ים (affectation, feigning, make believe, pose, simulation). (various references)

Hungarian		színlelés (affectation, assumption, counterfeit, disingenuousness, dissimulation, feint, make-believe, pose, pretense, simulation), látszat (appearance, facade, gloss, guise, likelihood, likeness, make-believe, mockery, outside, presentment, pretense, semblance, shell), jogcím (claim, due, pretense, title, title-deed), ürügy (evasion, excuse, false allegation, handle, pretense, pretension, shift, shuffle, stalking horse, subterfuge), tettetés (affectation, assumption, dissimulation, feint, sham, simulation), szimulálás (counterfeit, simulation), szerepjátszás (pretense), nagyravágyás (ambition, ambitiousness, pretension), látszatkeltés (make believe, make-believe), igény (claim, demand, need, pretense, pretension, want), hivalkodás (ostentation, parade), hiúság (self-respect, vainness, vanity, windiness), fondorlat (engineering, false pretences, fraud, machination, pretense, smart practice, wilful misrepresentation), áltatás (pretense). (various references)

Italian		pretesto (cloak, color, colour, evasion, excuse, handle, occasion, opportunity, peg, plea, pretense, pretext), pretesa (claim, demand, pretense, pretension), simulazione (faking, feigning, pretense, simulation), scusa (alibi, apology, excuse, excuse me, pardon, plea, pretense, sorry, subterfuge), finzione (blind, deceit, deceitfulness, fiction, figment, invention, make believe, Masquerade, pretense, sham), finta (feigning, feint, pretense, sham). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		藉口 , 振り (appearance, manner, show, style), 外連 (playing to the gallery, showing off). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		しゃ�"う (darken, inclined shaft, shade, slanting rays of light, social intercourse, social life, speculation), ふり (appearance, disadvantage, drawback, handicap, inseparability, irrational, rainfall, show, snowfall, unfavorable, unreasonable), けれ�" (playing to the gallery, showing off). (various references)

Manx		scaa (a very thin person, adumbration, apparition, blight; thirds, cover, fence, fencing, fire guard, ghost, guise, hood, screen, shade, shadiness, shadow, timidity), oyraght (causality), myr yien (pretendedly, shamming, show), lhiggey er (affectation, affectedness, counterfeit, dissimulate, dissimulation, feign, feigning, feint, make-believe, pose, pretend, profess, sham, simulate, simulation), leshtal (apology, excuse, mitigation, plea, pretext), far-leshtal. (various references)

Pig Latin		etencepray

Portuguese		pretensão (ambition, arrogation, aspiration, assumption, desire, presumption, pretense, pretension, snobbery, want, wish). (various references)

Romanian		pretext (blind, color, colour, cover, excuse, ground, guise, handle, mask, occasion, pretext, veil), pretenţiozitate, pretenţie (challenge, claim, pretension, requirement), prefãcãtorie (acting, cant, disguise, dissimulation, double dealing, feint, felinity, hypocrisy, make believe, sham, simulacrum, simulation), scuzã (apology, excuse, pardon, plea, pretext), cerere (appeal, application, bill, claim, consumption, demand, desire, entreaty, inquiry, market, petition, request, requirement, requisition, run, suit, supplication, wish), amãgire (cheating, delusion, illusion). (various references)

Russian		отговорка (cloak, come-off, excuse, pretense, stalking-horse), претенциозность (flatulence, flatulency, pretension, pretentiousness). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		pretvaranje (affectation, conversion, converting, guise, pretense, simulation, transformation), zavaravanje, varka (delusion, illusion, pretense, sham, will-o'-the-wisp), izgovor (elusion, excuse, loophole, loop-hole, plea, pretense, pretension, pretext, pronunciation). (various references)

Spanish		pretensión (affectation, arrogance, aspiration, claim, offer, offer of marriage, offer of parriage, presumption, pretense, pretension, pretentiousness, proposal), derecho (bolt upright, canoness, claim, direct, directly, erect, jurisdiction, law, legitimacy, onside, presumption, rectum, redress, right, standing, straight, straight ahead, title, upright). (various references)

Swedish		förevändning (excuse, pretense, pretext, put off). (various references)

Turkish		yalandan yapma (pretense, simulation), numara (act, affectation, no, number, pretense, size, stunt, trick), iddia (allegation, argument, assertion, asseveration, averment, bet, charge, claim, contention, contest, information, pleading, pretense, pretension, protestation, say so, submission), bahane (allegation, blind, cavil, cloak, cop out, cover, evasion, excuse, guise, peg, plea, pretext, putoff, rise, salvo, shift, stalking horse, subterfuge, veil). (various references)

Ukrainian		відмовка (come off, excuse, pretense), обман (bam, bamboozle, beguilement, bilk, bluff, bunko, cheat, chouse, circumvention, cozenage, deceit, deception, delusion, do, double cross, foist, fraud, fraudulence, fraudulency, gammon, gouge, guile, hanky panky, hoax, imposture, juggle, jugglery, lie, overreach, phoney, phony, pretense, ruse, sell, sham, swindle, trickery, victimization, wile), претензія (challenge, claim, complaint, demand, pretense, pretension), прикидання (acting, pretense), привід (alibi, cause, cloak, grievance, handle, occasion, pretense, pretext, salvo, subject). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Language	Date	Source	Mark Chapter 12, Verse 40
Greek (transliterated)	250 BC	Septuagint	Oi katesqionteV taV oikiaV twn chrwn kai profasei makra proseucomenoi outoi lhyontai perissoteron krima
Latin	405	Vulgate	Qui devorant domos viduarum sub obtentu prolixae orationis hii accipient prolixius iudicium
Old English	990	West Saxon	þa þe wudewena hus for-swelged midheora langsumen ge-bedan. Þa on-foð længestnedom.
Middle English	1395	Wyclif	Whiche deuouren the housis of widewis vndur colour of long preier; thei schulen take the longer doom.
Renaissance English	1526	Tyndale	And devoure widowes houses and that vnder coloure of longe prayinge. These shall receave greater dampnacion.
Jacobean English	1611	King James	Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.
Victorian English	1833	Webster	Who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.
Basic English	1964	Ogden	Who take away the property of widows, and before the eyes of men make long prayers; these will be judged more hardly.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Language	Mark Chapter 12, Verse 40
Cebuano	sila nga nagasubad sa katigayonan sa mga babayeng balo, ug aron sa pagtabontabon niini nagahimo sila sa hatag-as nga mga pangadye. Mahiaguman ra nila ang labi pa ka mabug-at nga hukom sa silot."
Chinese	他們侵吞寡婦的家 �"� 、假意作很長的禱告．這些人要受更重的刑罰。
Croatian	proždiru kuæe udovièke, još pod izlikom dugih molitava. Stiæi æe ih to oštrija osuda!"
Danish	de, som opæde Enkers Huse og på Skrømt bede længe, disse skulle få des hårdere Dom."
Dutch	Welke de huizen der weduwen opeten, en dat onder den schijn van lang te bidden. Dezen zullen zwaarder oordeel ontvangen.
Finnish	noita, jotka syövät leskien huoneet ja näön vuoksi pitävät pitkiä rukouksia; he saavat sitä kovemman tuomion".
French	qui dévorent les maisons des veuves, et qui font pour l`apparence de longues prières. Ils seront jugés plus sévèrement.
Gaelic	A shluigeas tighean bhantrach air sgath urnaighean fada: gheibh iad sin binn nas cruaidhe.
German	sie fressen der Witwen Häuser und wenden langes Gebet vor. Diese werden desto mehr Verdammnis empfangen.
Haitian Creole	Se piye y'ap piye malerèz yo, an menm tan y'ap plede fè lapriyè byen long pou parèt pi bon. Kondannasyon yo pral pi rèd.
Hungarian	A kik az özvegyeknek házát fölemésztik és színbõl hosszan imádkoznak: ezek súlyosabb ítélet alá esnek.
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari	Mereka menipu janda-janda dan merampas rumahnya. Dan untuk menutupi kejahatan mereka itu, mereka berdoa panjang-panjang. Hukuman mereka nanti berat!"
Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama	dan yang menghabiskan harta segala janda, dan melanjutkan doanya dengan jalan berpura-pura; mereka itu pun akan terkena hukum yang terlebih berat."
Maori	Ka pau nei i a ratou nga whare o nga pouaru, a ka maminga ki te inoi roa: he nui rawa te mate e pa ki enei.
Norwegian	de som opeter enkers hus og for et syns skyld holder lange bønner! Disse skal få dess hårdere dom.
Portuguese	que devoram as casas das viúvas, e por pretexto fazem longas orações; estes hão de receber muito maior condenação.
Rumanian	casele vqduvelor le mqnkncq, wi fac rugqciuni lungi de ochii lumii. O mai mare oskndq va veni peste ei.``
Russian	УЙЙ, � ПС�"БАЭЙЕ �"ПНЩ Ч�"ПЧ Й ОБ� ПЛБЪ �"ПМЗП НПМСЭЙЕУС, � ТЙНХФ ФСЗЮБКЫЕЕ ПУХЦ�"ЕОЙЕ.
Shuar	Tura wajé jeencha atantainiawai. Túrawar aents nekaracharat tusar ti esaram chichamjai Yúsan áujainiawai. Nincha chikichjai nankaamas Yus asutiawartatui" Tímiayi.
Swahili	Huwanyonya wajane huku wakijisingizia kusali sala ndefu. Siku ya hukumu watapata adhabu kali!"
Swedish	detta under det att de utsuga änkors hus, medan de för syns skull hålla långa böner. De skola få en dess hårdare dom."
Uma	Mpobagiu-ra tobine tobalu, pai' -ra mpohagoi tomi-ra. Rawunii' kadada'a gau' -ra tohe'e hante mosampaya rapomoloe-loe. Motomo lia mpai' huku' -ra."
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "pretence": pretences. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Pretence" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: pertenue, petance, petrenko, Predencia, prefence, prience. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "c-e-e-e-n-p-r-t"
	-1 letter: percent, precent, preteen, terpene.
	-2 letters: center, centre, entree, eterne, pecten, recent, recept, repent, retene, teener, tenrec.
	-3 letters: creep, crepe, crept, enter, erect, pence, peter, preen, rente, tepee, terce, terne, treen.
	-4 letters: cent, cepe, cere, cete, epee, erne, neep, peen, peer, pent, pert, pree, rent, rete, teen, tern, tree.
	-5 letters: cee, cep, ere, ern, nee, net.
	Words containing the letters "c-e-e-e-n-p-r-t"
	+1 letter: epicenter, precedent, precented, pretences.
	+2 letters: epicenters, penetrance, percentage, percentile, pertinence, precedents, preenacted, repentance, temperance, threepence.
	+3 letters: carpentered, centerpiece, copresented, intercepted, intercepter, pearlescent, penetrances, percentages, percentiles, perfectness, persistence, pertinences, preelecting, preelection, preerecting, presentence, putrescence, reinspected, repentances, replacement, supercenter, temperances, threepences, unreceptive.
	+4 letters: centerpieces, decipherment, encipherment, impertinence, intemperance, intercepters, interspecies, persistences, pertinencies, petrogenetic, preconcerted, preelections, preexistence, prepotencies, prepubescent, preselecting, preselection, presentenced, presentences, putrescences, replacements, supercenters, unperceptive.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.