Pretence

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpɹiːtɛns/

Definitions

1. A false show or claim aimed to mislead or give a misleading impression
2. An act of pretending or creating a deceptive appearance to hide the truth
3. A dishonest display or assertion that attempts to create a false belief

Etymology: The Latin verb "praetendere" literally meant "to stretch before," from "prae" (before) and "tendere" (to stretch). Its sense of holding something out in front of you to hide what lies behind it is the seed of the modern meaning: a covering put before the truth. Latin speakers used it for spreading a curtain or a screen, and from there it came to mean putting forward a false reason or excuse. The word reached English through Middle French "pretensse," which itself came from the Late Latin "praetensus," the past participle of the same verb. English "pretence" thus shares its ancestry with "pretend," and the two words follow the same path from a physical act of stretching something out to an act of putting up a false front. The spelling "pretense" is the American form, while British English kept the "c," which is the form used here.

Synonyms: deception, falsity, affectation

Antonyms: genuineness, truth