pretense

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Pitino has made a smooth transition to college basketball’s wild new order, in which the pretense of amateurism has been abandoned and the transfer portal reshapes the roster every 12 months.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

This is the kind of art that would find a suitable home in a crypto king’s Miami mansion, and whose pretense of depth can’t conceal its wallowing in the shallows.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

It is so strange to see serious people pretending to be doing serious work in this serious place, when all pretense of intellectual seriousness has fallen away.

From Slate • Dec. 17, 2025

She had been through life’s fires and knew that when it’s a fit, it should not be based on any false pretense.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2025

We just need to keep the pretense up in front of the grown-ups.

From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling