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# pretence

«pretence» in Mova's school dictionary: **acting as if something is true when it is not, for…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (pretence, pretences; US spelling pretense)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Pretence is acting as if something is true when it is not, for example pretending to be asleep or happy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pretence/#m1)

2) A pretence can be a false reason given to hide the real one, as in "under the pretence of helping". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pretence/#m2)

3) "Make no pretence" means not even trying to look as if you are something. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pretence/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In stories pretence shows that a character is hiding their real feelings or plans; readers should look for the truth behind it. In honesty and safety lessons, "under false pretences" means tricking people, as scammers do. Play pretence (make-believe) is a normal, healthy part of children's games.

### examples

- Her smile was just a pretence; inside she was sad. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pretence/#x1)
- He kept up the pretence of being ill to miss the test. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pretence/#x2)
- The scammer got into the house under the pretence of checking the meter. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pretence/#x3)
- Let's drop the pretence and tell the truth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pretence/#x4)
- Their game of pretence turned the sofa into a pirate ship. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pretence/#x5)
- He made no pretence of liking broccoli. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pretence/#x6)
- Getting money under false pretences is a crime. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pretence/#x7)
- So, under pretence of visiting some small islands that belonged to his father, he set out. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pretence/#x8)

### note

UK, Australia, NZ, Ireland: pretence; USA: pretense; Canada uses both. Verb: pretend. Phrase: "under false pretences" (plural). Pretending in a game is fine; pretence to trick people is dishonest.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «pretence» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pretence/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.