pretext
Syllables: pre·text/ˈpɹiːtɛkst/
pretext noun: a false, contrived, or assumed purpose or reason; a pretense.
Noun
pretext (plural pretexts)
- A false, contrived, or assumed purpose or reason; a pretense.
- The reporter called the company on the pretext of trying to resolve a consumer complaint.
- [T]hey would ſay [...] that I had quarrell'd / My brother purpoſely, thereby to finde / An apt pretext, to baniſh them my houſe.1598, Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Euery Man in His Humour. A Comœdie. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, →OCLC, Act II...
- Synonyms:
- alibi, stall, canard, excuse, plea, pretense, pretension, zhuangbility
Verb
pretext (third-person singular simple present pretexts, present participle pretexting, simple past and past participle pretexted)
- To employ a pretext, which involves using a false or contrived purpose for soliciting the gain of something else.
- The spy obtained his phone records using possibly-illegal pretexting methods.
- […] the something in the air of these establishments; the vibration of the vast, strange life of the town; the influence of the types, the performers, concocting their messages; the little prompt Paris women arranging, pretexting goodness knew what, driving the dreadful needle-pointed public pen at...1903 September 28, Henry James, The Ambassadors, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC
- Synonyms:
- blag
pretext meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Malayalam
pretext in Hindi
- pretext, pretence, excuse
- मिस mis
- pretext, pretence
- बहाना bahānā
pretext in Tamil
- சாக்காக, சாக்குப்போக்கு, பொய்க்காரணம், போலிக் காரணம்
pretext in Urdu
- بہانہ, فعل, حیلہ, حجت, علت, پردہ
pretext in Malayalam
- നടിപ്പ്, നിമിത്തം, ഒഴികഴിവ്, മുടക്കുന്യായം
More languagesFewer languages
- pretext in Kannada
- ಸಾಕು, ತೋರ್ಕೆ, ಹೆಳೆ, ಕುಂಟು ನೆಪ
- pretext in Sanskrit
- अपदेश apadeśa
- pretext in Arabic
- ذَرِيعَة ḏarīʕa, عُذْر ʕuḏr
- pretext in Persian
- بهانه bahâne, دستاویز dastâviz, عذر 'ozr
- pretext in Vietnamese
- cớ, mượn cớ
Examples of pretext in a sentence
- It must be admitted, that we are ready in pretexts."1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry...
- On every kind of pretext she would run away from work [...]1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […]...
- The smallest incidents were to serve as pretexts for demonstrations of force and for demands for indemnities and reparations which increased China's subjection.1996, Jacques Gernet, translated by J. R. Foster and Charles Hartman, A History of Chinese Civilization, 2nd edition, Cambridge University...
- When that metaphor proves untenable, he switches to insisting that women are like beer but that’s mainly as a pretext to drink until he passes out in a father-son bonding haze.2012 May 27, Nathan Rabin, “The Simpsons (Classic): ‘New Kid on the Block’ [season 4, episode 8; originally aired 12 November 1992]”, in...
Synonyms of pretext
Forms of pretext
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | pretexts |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | pretexts |
| present participle | pretexting |
| past participle | pretexted |
| past | pretexted |
Origin of pretext
From Latin praetextum (“an ornament, etc., wrought in front, a pretense”), neuter of praetextus, past participle of praetexere (“to weave before, fringe or border, allege”).
Words formed from pretext
Questions about pretext
- What does pretext mean?
- Pretext means a false, contrived, or assumed purpose or reason; a pretense.
- What is pretext in Hindi?
- Pretext in Hindi is मिस (mis), बहाना (bahānā). See Pretext meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use pretext in a sentence?
- It must be admitted, that we are ready in pretexts."
- What part of speech is pretext?
- Pretext can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce pretext?
- Pretext is pronounced /ˈpɹiːtɛkst/.
- What is the plural of pretext?
- The plural of pretext is pretexts.
Words near pretext in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: pretext (page history and authors); बहाना (Hindi) (page history and authors); pretext (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pretext (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pretext (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pretext (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-pretext.ogg.
Cite this entry: “pretext.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pretext. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.