pretext
Example Sentences
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She believed they were duped by the daughter of ex-president Jacob Zuma under the pretext of attending a personal development course in Russia.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
The parties “worked in tandem and were never actually adverse,” she wrote, calling the lawsuit a pretext for a settlement “that had no viable basis in law or fact.”
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
Clement’s lawyer said in a statement that the report found against her “on the pretext of ‘perception,’ the source of which was rumour, gossip and innuendo.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
We narrowed the search for Jamal with several sources - one of them arranged a call with Jamal under a false pretext and recorded their conversation.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
She spun the dial and tugged the door open, ducking her head inside under the pretext of sorting things into and out of her backpack.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
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He has previously accused Russian authorities of "fabricating new pretexts to restrict Russians' access to Telegram".
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
No surprise, the panel agreed with him and concocted pretexts to kill the treatment—for instance, the staff opined that maybe biopsies had zapped the tumors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
He dismissed the possible threat of a criminal indictment over his testimony or the renovation project as "pretexts."
From Barron's ● Jan. 12, 2026
The pretexts are flimsy; due process is absent, and mistakes have already been made.
From Slate ● Apr. 3, 2025
All three were formally censured, under various pretexts, in company with John Quincy Adams, at this and other gatherings of the Garrisonians.
From Liberty In The Nineteenth Century by Frederic May Holland
Vocabulary lists containing pretext
Animal Farm
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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Grade 11, List 2
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