pretence

noun

the act of giving a false appearance

imaginative intellectual play

pretending with intention to deceive

an artful or simulated semblance

a false or unsupportable quality

Roots

praepre- · Latin · before tenderetence- · Latin · stretch

Synonyms for pretence

pretensionn feigningn guisen pretextn pretendingn pretentiousnessn fakeryn artificen rusen fakingv

Synonyms & related words for pretence

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of pretence — including pretension, feigning, guise, pretext, pretending, pretentiousness. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to pretence

Explore words related to pretence — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include pretense, dissembling, unpretendingly, feigned, pretended, pseudery, arrogative, feignedly. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for pretence

Common synonyms for pretence include pretension, feigning, guise, pretext, pretending, pretentiousness, fakery, artifice — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does pretence come from?

The word pretence breaks down into 2 roots of Latin origin: pre-, from Latin prae (“before”); and tence, from Latin tendere (“stretch”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.