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Pretext   /prˈitˌɛkst/   Listen
Pretext

noun
1.
Something serving to conceal plans; a fictitious reason that is concocted in order to conceal the real reason.  Synonym: stalking-horse.
2.
An artful or simulated semblance.  Synonyms: guise, pretence, pretense.






WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University








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"Pretext" Quotes from Famous Books



... surprised that he knew about this letter which was to be kept a secret. Then she realized that he was questioning her, and that his request for a dictionary was only a pretext. Why did he need an English dictionary if he could not understand a ...
— Nobody's Girl - (En Famille) • Hector Malot

... and express messenger on the box. Six were robbed by THREE!—they were a sweet-scented lot! Reckon they must hev felt mighty small, for I hear they got up and skedaddled from the station under the pretext of lookin' for the robbers." He laughed again, and the laugh was noisily repeated by his five companions at the other end ...
— Snow-Bound at Eagle's • Bret Harte

... arm round her, and raise her. She started to her feet, and waved him back from her with a wild action of her hands, as if she was frightened of him. "The wedding present!" she cried, seizing the first pretext that occurred to her. "You offered to bring me your mother's present. I am dying to see what it is. ...
— The New Magdalen • Wilkie Collins

... Mark helped her mechanically, but left his own belongings behind. They went silently up the path, with slow and hesitating steps, as if each expected something from the other, both of them occupied with the same mental effort to find a pretext for delay. They came at last to the spot where Mark's way lay across a low fence, and hers by the winding path through the ...
— The Precipice • Ivan Goncharov

... in the matter of raising our legal and poor law administration to such a pitch of excellence, that not even five per cent. of our incriminated population can, with justice, bring forward any economic pretext whatever for violating the law. As far as legal administration is concerned, it must be remembered that mistakes will sometimes occur, no matter how numerous the precautions may be ...
— Crime and Its Causes • William Douglas Morrison


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