Master confusing words with ease
Pretense vs. Pretext
Pretense
/prɪˈtens/Examples:
She smiled under the pretense of calmness.His pretense of wealth fooled nobody.Under the pretense of friendship, he betrayed her.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Pretext
/ˈpriːtekst/Examples:
He used the rain as a pretext to skip the meeting.Her illness was a convenient pretext for avoiding the trip.Under pretext of fixing the issue, he delayed the project.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
- Though pretense and pretext both imply a sense of falseness, they're used in different contexts.
- Pretense often refers to a false display or claim, while pretext refers to a false reason or excuse given for an action.
- Think of pretense as a facade that someone might put on to deceive others.
- Consider pretext as an excuse someone gives to justify an action.
- Remember, pretense is about the show or appearance, pretext is about the specific reason given for doing something.
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