definition of
pretense

[1] #1 pretense n. [pretence, pretending, simulation, feigning] the act of giving a false appearance; "his conformity was only pretending". wn

[2] #2 pretense n. [pretence, feigning, dissembling] pretending with intention to deceive. wn

[3] #3 pretense n. [pretence, make-believe] imaginative intellectual play. wn

[4] #4 pretense n. [pretension, pretence] a false or unsupportable quality. wn

[5] #5 pretense n. [guise, pretence, pretext] an artful or simulated semblance; "under the guise of friendship he betrayed them". wn