DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 pre·tense /ˈpriˌtɛn(t)s, prɪˈ/
 藉口,虛假,偽裝

 Pre·tense, Pre·tence  n.
 1. The act of laying claim; the claim laid; assumption; pretension.
    Primogeniture can not have any pretense to a right of solely inheriting property or power.   --Locke.
    I went to Lambeth with Sir R. Brown's pretense to the wardenship of Merton College, Oxford.   --Evelyn.
 2. The act of holding out, or offering, to others something false or feigned; presentation of what is deceptive or hypocritical; deception by showing what is unreal and concealing what is real; false show; simulation; as, pretense of illness; under pretense of patriotism; on pretense of revenging Cæsar's death.
 3. That which is pretended; false, deceptive, or hypocritical show, argument, or reason; pretext; feint.
 Let not the Trojans, with a feigned pretense
 Of proffered peace, delude the Latian prince.   --Dryden.
 4. Intention; design. [Obs.]
    A very pretense and purpose of unkindness.   --Shak.
 Note: ☞ See the Note under Offense.
 Syn: -- Mask; appearance; color; show; pretext; excuse.
 Usage: -- Pretense, Pretext. A pretense is something held out as real when it is not so, thus falsifying the truth. A pretext is something woven up in order to cover or conceal one's true motives, feelings, or reasons. Pretext is often, but not always, used in a bad sense.
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 pretense
      n 1: the act of giving a false appearance; "his conformity was
           only pretending" [syn: pretence, pretending, simulation,
            feigning]
      2: pretending with intention to deceive [syn: pretence, feigning,
          dissembling]
      3: imaginative intellectual play [syn: pretence, make-believe]
      4: a false or unsupportable quality [syn: pretension, pretence]
      5: an artful or simulated semblance; "under the guise of
         friendship he betrayed them" [syn: guise, pretence, pretext]