pretext

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

“We’re worried this is a pretext for people to fall out of the asylum system and fall out of the workforce,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026

Director Jon Favreau’s film, which he wrote with Dave Filoni and Noah Kloor, features a grindingly simple plot that provides the weakest possible pretext to staple together a series of uninspired monster and droid fights.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

I had been busy with pain and rage, but not with fear, till now; I had not thought that the Order of Exile might be mere pretext for my execution.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

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

Actions over the Fed building were "pretexts", he said.

From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026

He dismissed the possible threat of 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

Resignations occurred upon discreditable pretexts, and became alarmingly prevalent.

From The Loyalists of Massachusetts And the Other Side of the American Revolution by James H. Stark