"pretence" meaning in English

See pretence in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈpɹiːtɛns/ [US], /pɹɪˈtɛns/ [UK] Audio: En-us-pretence.ogg Forms: pretences [plural]
Rhymes: -ɛns Etymology: From Middle French pretensse, from Late Latin praetēnsus (past participle of praetendō (“to pretend”), from prae- (“before”) + tendō (“to stretch”)). Etymology templates: {{der|en|frm|pretensse}} Middle French pretensse, {{cog|LL.|praetēnsus}} Late Latin praetēnsus Head templates: {{en-noun|~}} pretence (countable and uncountable, plural pretences)
  1. (British spelling) An act of pretending or pretension; a false claim or pretext. Tags: UK, countable, uncountable Translations (act of pretending or pretension): μύνη (múnē) [feminine] (Ancient Greek), увъртане (uvǎrtane) [neuter] (Bulgarian), преструване (prestruvane) [neuter] (Bulgarian), předstírání [neuter] (Czech), prétention [feminine] (French), Vorwand [masculine] (German), बहाना (bahānā) (Hindi), cur i gcéill [masculine] (Irish), calumnia [feminine] (Latin), притво́рство (pritvórstvo) [neuter] (Russian), förevändning [common-gender] (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-pretence-en-noun-kPYDM8-Q Disambiguation of 'act of pretending or pretension': 96 1 3
  2. Something asserted or alleged on slight evidence; an unwarranted assumption. Tags: countable, uncountable
    Sense id: en-pretence-en-noun-eF-dEO22
  3. (obsolete) Intention; design. Tags: countable, obsolete, uncountable
    Sense id: en-pretence-en-noun-EMBMu7JW Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Ancient Greek translations, Terms with Bulgarian translations, Terms with Czech translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Hindi translations, Terms with Irish translations, Terms with Latin translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Swedish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 29 31 40 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 13 13 73 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 14 17 69 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 8 8 84 Disambiguation of Terms with Ancient Greek translations: 13 24 63 Disambiguation of Terms with Bulgarian translations: 9 12 79 Disambiguation of Terms with Czech translations: 8 15 77 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 10 10 80 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 9 11 80 Disambiguation of Terms with Hindi translations: 7 15 78 Disambiguation of Terms with Irish translations: 9 12 79 Disambiguation of Terms with Latin translations: 8 8 84 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 8 8 84 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 8 11 81
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: pretense [US], prætence [archaic] Derived forms: escutcheon of pretence, false pretence

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "escutcheon of pretence"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "false pretence"
    }
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  "etymology_templates": [
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
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      "name": "der"
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "LL.",
        "2": "praetēnsus"
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      "expansion": "Late Latin praetēnsus",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle French pretensse, from Late Latin praetēnsus (past participle of praetendō (“to pretend”), from prae- (“before”) + tendō (“to stretch”)).",
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
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          "ref": "1771, [Oliver] Goldsmith, “George II. (Continued.)”, in The History of England, from the Earliest Times to the Death of George II. […], volume IV, London: […] T[homas] Davies, […]; [T.] Becket and [P. A.] De Hondt; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, pages 365–366:",
          "text": "Great armaments were, therefore, put on foot in Moravia and Bohemia, while the elector of Saxony, under a pretence of military parade, drew together about ſixteen thouſand men, which were poſted in a ſtrong ſituation at Pirna.",
          "type": "quote"
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        {
          "ref": "1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC, pages 10–11:",
          "text": "There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy. [...] Passengers wander restlessly about or hurry, with futile energy, from place to place. Pushing men hustle each other at the windows of the purser's office, under pretence of expecting letters or despatching telegrams.",
          "type": "quote"
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          "ref": "1995, Charlie Lewis, Peter Mitchell, Children′s Early Understanding Of Mind: Origins And Development, page 281:",
          "text": "In pilot work we have used the method described in Experiment 2 on children′s memory for the content of their own false beliefs and pretence and asked them to differentiate between belief and pretence.",
          "type": "quote"
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        {
          "ref": "2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 231b:",
          "text": "That part of education that turned up in the latest phase of our argument, the cross-examination of the empty pretence of wisdom, is none other, we must declare, than the true-blooded kind of sophistry.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
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        "(British spelling) An act of pretending or pretension; a false claim or pretext."
      ],
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        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "96 1 3",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "uvǎrtane",
          "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "увъртане"
        },
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          "_dis1": "96 1 3",
          "code": "bg",
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          "roman": "prestruvane",
          "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "преструване"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "96 1 3",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "předstírání"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "96 1 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "prétention"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "96 1 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Vorwand"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "96 1 3",
          "code": "grc",
          "lang": "Ancient Greek",
          "roman": "múnē",
          "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "μύνη"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "96 1 3",
          "code": "hi",
          "lang": "Hindi",
          "roman": "bahānā",
          "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
          "word": "बहाना"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "96 1 3",
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "cur i gcéill"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "96 1 3",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "calumnia"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "96 1 3",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "pritvórstvo",
          "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "притво́рство"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "96 1 3",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "förevändning"
        }
      ]
    },
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          "ref": "1899 September – 1900 July, Joseph Conrad, chapter II, in Lord Jim: A Tale, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1900, →OCLC, page 9:",
          "text": "He was gentlemanly, steady, tractable, with a thorough knowledge of his duties; and in time, when yet very young, he became chief mate of a fine ship, without ever having been tested by those events of the sea that show in the light of day the inner worth of a man, the edge of his temper, and the fibre of his stuff; that reveal the quality of his resistance and the secret truth of his pretences, not only to others but also to himself.",
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          "kind": "other",
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          "_dis": "7 15 78",
          "kind": "other",
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          "ref": "c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:",
          "text": "A very pretence and purpose of unkindness.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Intention; design."
      ],
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        "(obsolete) Intention; design."
      ],
      "tags": [
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      "tags": [
        "UK"
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      "rhymes": "-ɛns"
    }
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  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "word": "pretense"
    },
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      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
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      "word": "prætence"
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  "wikipedia": [
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  "word": "pretence"
}
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    "Rhymes:English/ɛns",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛns/2 syllables",
    "Terms with Ancient Greek translations",
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    "Terms with Czech translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Hindi translations",
    "Terms with Irish translations",
    "Terms with Latin translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "escutcheon of pretence"
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      "word": "false pretence"
    }
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      "args": {
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      "name": "der"
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      "args": {
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  "etymology_text": "From Middle French pretensse, from Late Latin praetēnsus (past participle of praetendō (“to pretend”), from prae- (“before”) + tendō (“to stretch”)).",
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          "ref": "1771, [Oliver] Goldsmith, “George II. (Continued.)”, in The History of England, from the Earliest Times to the Death of George II. […], volume IV, London: […] T[homas] Davies, […]; [T.] Becket and [P. A.] De Hondt; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, pages 365–366:",
          "text": "Great armaments were, therefore, put on foot in Moravia and Bohemia, while the elector of Saxony, under a pretence of military parade, drew together about ſixteen thouſand men, which were poſted in a ſtrong ſituation at Pirna.",
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          "ref": "1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC, pages 10–11:",
          "text": "There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy. [...] Passengers wander restlessly about or hurry, with futile energy, from place to place. Pushing men hustle each other at the windows of the purser's office, under pretence of expecting letters or despatching telegrams.",
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          "type": "quote"
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          "pretext"
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        "(British spelling) An act of pretending or pretension; a false claim or pretext."
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          "ref": "1899 September – 1900 July, Joseph Conrad, chapter II, in Lord Jim: A Tale, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1900, →OCLC, page 9:",
          "text": "He was gentlemanly, steady, tractable, with a thorough knowledge of his duties; and in time, when yet very young, he became chief mate of a fine ship, without ever having been tested by those events of the sea that show in the light of day the inner worth of a man, the edge of his temper, and the fibre of his stuff; that reveal the quality of his resistance and the secret truth of his pretences, not only to others but also to himself.",
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          "text": "A very pretence and purpose of unkindness.",
          "type": "quote"
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        "(obsolete) Intention; design."
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      "word": "pretense"
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      "word": "prætence"
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    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "uvǎrtane",
      "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "увъртане"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "prestruvane",
      "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "преструване"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "předstírání"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "prétention"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Vorwand"
    },
    {
      "code": "grc",
      "lang": "Ancient Greek",
      "roman": "múnē",
      "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "μύνη"
    },
    {
      "code": "hi",
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "roman": "bahānā",
      "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
      "word": "बहाना"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "cur i gcéill"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "calumnia"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "pritvórstvo",
      "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "притво́рство"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "act of pretending or pretension",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "förevändning"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "pretense"
  ],
  "word": "pretence"
}

Download raw JSONL data for pretence meaning in English (6.8kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-28 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-11-21 using wiktextract (65a6e81 and 0dbea76). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.