pretence

Plural: pretences

Noun

• An act or instance of pretending; an attempt to make something seem true.
• a false or unsupportable quality
• an artful or simulated semblance
• pretending with intention to deceive
• imaginative intellectual play
• the act of giving a false appearance
• British standard spelling of pretense.

Examples

• Her feigned ignorance of the dictionary was just a PRETENCE to lull her Words With Friends opponent.

Synonyms

dissembling, feigning, guise, make-believe, pretending, pretense, pretension, pretext, simulation