Other forms: pretences
A pretence is an act put on to deceive. Keep up the pretence, a pretence of interest, drop the pretence.
False pretences is the legal phrase, meaning obtaining something by lying about the facts. Americans spell it pretense, and under the pretence of is the standard way to report a cover story.
1nounpretenceAn act put on to deceive.
“She made a pretence of reading, but she was really listening to their conversation.”
pretence is an act.
Also accepted in games: pretense