pretext

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

Eventually, they flew her to Ahmedabad under the pretext of visiting a sick relative.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

“I guess it can be seen as a pretext for the album. Just … be sweet,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026

But some industry watchers say firms are using the technology as a pretext for other cost-cutting.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

I stop Peeta’s practice, on the pretext of showing him how to rid himself of the itchy scabs, and as we scrub ourselves, I bring up our escape.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

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 is facing his own criminal probe related to cost overruns during renovations of Fed properties - concerns he has called "pretexts".

From BBC ● Jan. 21, 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

Bouquet had sent two soldiers from Fort Pitt with letters to Colonel Bradstreet; but these men had been detained, under specious pretexts, by the Delawares.

From The Conspiracy of Pontiac and the Indian War after the Conquest of Canada by Francis Parkman