Synonyms & related words for pretense

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of pretense — including pretension, feigning, guise, pretext, dissembling, 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 pretense

Explore words related to pretense — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include pretending, feigned, pretended, arrogative, phoniness, shamming, pretends, feigns. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for pretense

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

Where does pretense come from?

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