Both Uses of
pretense
in
Babbitt
- He wanted to be near her, on pretense of helping her, yet he wanted to remain in this still ecstasy.†
Chpt 28 *
- He still made pretense of going to the Elks and to committee-meetings but less and less did he trouble to have his excuses interesting, less and less did she affect to believe them.†
Chpt 30
Definition:
-
(pretense) a false appearance or action to help one pretendeditor's notes: This is sometimes seen in the expression "false pretense" or "false pretenses" which is just emphasizing that behavior or actions do not reflect the true situation.