1. (

• pretension ,
• pretense ,
• pretence

) a false or unsupportable quality ;

2. (

• guise ,
• pretense ,
• pretence ,
• pretext

) an artful or simulated semblance; "under the guise of friendship he betrayed them" ;

3. (

• pretense ,
• pretence ,
• feigning ,
• dissembling

) pretending with intention to deceive ;

4. (

• pretense ,
• pretence ,
• make-believe

) imaginative intellectual play ;

5. (

• pretense ,
• pretence ,
• pretending ,
• simulation ,
• feigning

) the act of giving a false appearance; "his conformity was only pretending" ;